To help reduce challenges with cattle grazing and the judicious use of land across Nigeria, MTN Nigeria has launched the MTN Livestock Tracking Solutions (LTS) to assist herdsmen in monitoring and tracking their livestock, while the MTN Mobile Electricity will provide affordable electricity to rural community dwellers.
These solutions will help reduce the incidence of wandering cattle and provide electricity to entrepreneurs and rural dwellers. The mobile electricity solution in partnership with Nova-Lumos will bring clean, modern and affordable electricity to MTN customers in the rural areas.
MTN executive, Amina Oyagbola, announced the launch of these solutions in her goodwill message at the first Katsina State Economic and Investment Summit 2016.
According to her, “This ICT solution can track the location of cattle, send panic or emergency alerts to the authorities in times of trouble and help with creating grazing areas separate from farmlands. It can perform location tracking for cattle and geo-fencing for grazing areas. It makes use of GPS technology and is solar-powered to ensure that you can always stay in touch with your cattle, everywhere they go.”
On the mobile electricity solution, she said, “Our customers in rural areas can therefore replace kerosene lanterns, candles and flashlights with electricity that can power phones, fans, radios, TVs all at once and this service is already running in Katsina State. We are truly excited about these products and their implications for accelerated socio-economic development across the country. His Excellency, Governor Masari had expressed his belief in our ability to devise a solution and we are pleased to say that we have done just that.”
Oyagbola also expressed MTN’s preparedness to support e-government objectives at all levels. “We believe ICT is the future and MTN is committed to supporting Katsina and indeed Nigeria to ensure preparedness and empowerment towards this future.” she said.
The summit was declared opened by President Muhammadu Buhari during which he called for cooperation and partnerships between the states and the investors in view of the government’s drive to grow local contents and increase export.
“The world is now a global village. This summit is therefore a great opportunity to link up with others for the benefit of both parties. Our natural partners are those with requisite skills and financial capabilities to invest. Our major strength is farming and livestock. Two of the richest countries in the world namely New Zealand and Denmark built and developed their economies on these pillars. Properly harnessed, a combination of people with skills and money with those blessed with resources is a win-win partnership,” Buhari said.
Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Masari in his remarks stated that the future of development lies with technology which must be adequately utilized. He acknowledged the support of the private sector in improving the economy of the state while pledging to ensure his government supports any innovation that will continue to enhance the standard of living of the indigenes of Katsina and improve the economic status of the state.
The first Katsina State Economic and Investment Summit was a three-day event aimed at attracting investments in Kastina from local and foreign investors particularly in the areas of livestock production and meat processing, power generation, medium to large scale agricultural production among other areas.
