Mobile-based Decision Support System for Poultry Farmers: A Case of Tanzania

Abstract

Poultry farms in Tanzania are characterized by inadequate management practices which are mainly caused by the lack of adequate systems to guide the small-scale poultry farmers in decision making. It is well-established that information is a key factor in making effective decisions in numerous sectors including poultry farming. Furthermore, various researchers have identified the use of mobile decision support tools to be an effective way of aiding farmers in making informed decisions. In this paper, we present a mobile-based decision support system that will aid rural and small-scale poultry farmers in Tanzania to obtain reliable information that is crucial for making proper decisions in their farming activities. In this context, a mobile-based decision support system was achieved through a mobile application integrated with a chatbot assistant to provide a solution to various poultry farming-related problems and simplify their decision-making process. We used a data-driven approach towards developing an informational chatbot assistant for Android smartphones that is capable of interacting with small-scale poultry farmers through natural conversations by utilizing the RASA framework.