Palash Kumar Mondol’s poultry farm has three thousand broiler chickens. He has adopted Internet of Things (IoT) technology at the farm. Using this device, he can control the farm’s temperature, water, electric fans and lights through his mobile phone, without having to go there in person. This has saved him the cost of one worker. His production costs have fallen by 14,000 to 15,000 taka a month.
Palash Kumar is a resident of Baguthia village in Jashore’s Abhaynagar upazila. He leased land next to his house and built a shed to raise broiler chickens. He has been raising broilers there for three years. But running it was becoming difficult for him. He was spending too many of his own working hours on it, which meant he couldn’t focus enough on his fish farming. At the same time, he had to keep a worker employed at the farm around the clock and pay their salary. Six months ago, he installed an IoT device at the farm. This has both saved his own working hours and eliminated the need for a worker.
Palash Kumar said: “Even six months ago, I needed an extra worker at my farm. I had to pay him 12,000 taka a month. Since installing the IoT device, my electricity bill has come down by 1,000 to 1,500 taka. Other incidental costs have fallen too.”
Palash Kumar’s wife, Bithi Mondol, is a member of a microcredit program group run by the nonprofit Nabolok Parishad. The organization installed the device at Palash’s farm free of charge. Because of this device, Palash Kumar has become a model for small-scale poultry farmers in the area.
A recent visit to Palash Kumar’s poultry farm in Baguthia village found water containers hanging at intervals inside the farm, connected by pipes. Those pipes supply water from a rooftop tank. CCTV cameras are installed inside the farm. An IoT device is set up alongside them, connected to the internet. Through that connection, Palash Kumar can monitor and control the farm from his mobile phone using an app.
Faisal Sardar of Baguthia village and Mohammad Anarul Molla of Bibagdi village have come to learn about the IoT device from Palash Kumar. Faisal Sardar said IoT is exactly the kind of technology that saves costs. But he said the government needs to make this technology available to farmers for free or at low cost.
According to Nabolok Parishad, three entrepreneurs from the Jashore and Khulna region were given IoT poultry technology as an incentive from among the microcredit program’s members. Palash is one of them.
Nabolok Parishad livestock officer Prasun Biswas said the technology was supplied with financial support from PKSF (Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation). The technology package includes a software device, CCTV cameras and other necessary equipment. Installing it costs 50,000 taka.
Local poultry farmers say the government should supply this technology to small-scale farmers as an incentive.
Abhaynagar upazila livestock officer Md Touhidul Islam said the upazila has more than 300 farms raising egg-laying and broiler chickens for meat. He said Palash is the only one among them using digital technology, and that he is getting good results from it.