In using a participatory approach to technology development, we are committing to an evolving understanding of users, their capabilities, their needs and relationships to create an appropriate and flexible solution. We further see this form of engagement and user participation as a means of gaining local support, ensuring acceptance, building capacity, local ownership and empowerment of the farmers in understanding how technology can be used or appropriated to meet their own farm needs. Furthermore, in embedding our solution within the existing dairy farming or production practices and offering linkages to diary support services, we will potentially contribute to the sustainability of the intervention.
Development of the E-Lunda app started in August 2017. The app can be obtained from the Android play-store by searching for “elunda”. The online service can be accessed via the url http://elunda.net. The app is being rolled out to farmers in Western Uganda by SNV Uganda. Currently there are about 100 farmers who are using the app to provide production and herd information.
Since the development process is incremental, each new feature will be provided on the Google Playstore. The app can easily update with the latest features. Look out for more features.