The document discusses the applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies in livestock management, highlighting their roles in tracking livestock, improving grazing distribution, and disease monitoring. It outlines how GIS and remote sensing can provide real-time data, analyze spatial relationships, and contribute to informed decision-making in livestock management. The document concludes that while these technologies offer valuable insights, careful evaluation of information needs and potential costs is essential for effective implementation.

1. APPLICATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING &
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
TECHNOLOGIES IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT.
1.OLATOYE T.A; 2.ODULARU G.O.
1.Remote Sensing & GIS Unit, Dept. of Environmental Modeling, Forestry
Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN Headquarters), PMB 5054, Forest Hills,
Jericho, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2.2.Policy & Advocacy Unit, Forum for Agricultural Research (FARA), Accra,
Ghana.
Being a paper presented at the Conference of the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI), held at Hotel Africana Conference Centre, Kampala,
Uganda in September 9-11, 2013.

2. INTRODUCTION:
• GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM- A system for Processing,
manipulation, editing , management of geographic data inn a
computerized environment. It is also defined as a system of
hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping, and
analysis of geographic data, Via common geography, is able to link
spatially distributed entities and their attribute data.
• Supports the capture, management, manipulation, analysis,
modeling and display of spatially-referenced data for solving
complex planning and management problems.
• REMOTE SENSING is the science and art of obtaining information
about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of data
acquired by a device that is not in physical contact with the object,
area, or phenomenon under investigation.
• Remote sensing relies on the measurement of electromagnetic (EM)
energy emitted by objects. This (EM energy) can take several forms.
The most important source of EM energy at the Earth is Sun.

3. HOW RS/GIS WORKS
(Source: NASRDA, FCT, Abuja.

4. IMAGE ACQUISITION PROCESS IN RS:
1. Incoming Solar Radiation
2. Scattered in earth’s atmosphere.
3. Interaction with feature or object. (3a) Reflected energy from feature
4. Reflected Energy (RE)
5. RE subject to atmosphere attenuation.
6. Airborne or satellite sensor.
7. Recorded image or Array of quantitative values.
1. Incoming Solar Radiation
2. Scattered in earth’s atmosphere.
3. Interaction with feature or object. (3a) Reflected
energy from feature
4. Reflected Energy (RE)
5. RE subject to atmosphere attenuation.
6. Airborne or satellite sensor.
7. Recorded image or Array of quantitative values.

5. GIS & RS AS MANAGEMENT TOOLS:
When RS and GIS are combined, we are able to:
– Get a real time ‘birds eye view’ of large areas
– Attribute a spatial dataset to just about anything
• Monitor changes over time and space
– Combine/overlay various datasets from different disciplines
• Make informed decisions and optimise the way we manage
livestock.

6. GIS APPLICATIONS IN IMPROVING
LIVESTOCK GRAZING DISTRIBUTION:
• * Livestock Tracking, Forage Distribution,
Epidemiology/Disease Mapping, Diffusion Trends &
Control
• Animals can be tracked on a 24-hour basis using GPS
receivers. used to track cattle during the summer, fall and
winter.
• Collars can also record ambient temperature and number of
vertical and horizontal head movements. Head movements
can be used grazing time and differentiate animal activity
(resting or grazing) between location fixes. The ArcView®
Spatial Analyst and Tracking Analyst are used extensively.
This GPS (collars) and GIS technology has become an
integral component of livestock grazing distribution research .

7. LIVESTOCK GRAZING SUITABILITY
MODELING:
• The livestock grazing model suitability comprises of
three measures: the capacity and production of forage,
the soil sensitivity to erosion, and physical factors (water
resources and slope). The components of the suitability
model for livestock grazing can be illustrated using
ILWIS and ArcGIS Softwares.

8. LIVESTOCK SUITABILITY MODEL:

9. Other Examples At different scales –
The use of telemetry and GPS for the monitoring of goat
movements
• Remote Sensing –landscape level change detection
• Use the livestock to collect data at smaller and more
continuous scales
• GPS collars could provide information on:
• Grazing locations
• Activity Patterns
• Environmental Data

10. GIS Application in Livestock Disease
Control
Another important veterinary application relates to the epidemiological study of specific
diseases. The first step is usually to look for clustering of disease cases, as this can be a
clue to the presence of risk factors; statistical techniques can be used to test for clustering.
The next step is to analyse the relationships between the presence of various determinants
of disease and disease incidence, or prevalence, on a geographical basis. The technique
used is to overlay the coverages showing the spatial distribution of the variables under
study with a map containing information on disease incidence or prevalence. Coverages
used in the analysis could contain point information, or take the form of choroplethic (mean
values over an area) or isoplethic maps (contours). Areas of overlap of the respective
variables with different levels of disease are then calculated; multivariate statistical analysis
could be used to identify important factors. Physical proximity of specific determinants to
known sites where the disease is present (or absent) can also be studied. Once the causality
of disease has been established, the GIS can be used to model disease spread. This would
basically entail the overlaying of the various coverages depicting the presence of the
disease determinants. The result would be maps showing expected disease incidence. In a
study of diseases caused by Theileria parva in Africa, the known distribution of the vector
(Rhipicephalus appendiculatus) was compared with the potential distribution, based on
climatic suitability for the tick calculated from an interpolated climate database developed
for Africa, and "Normalised Difference Vegetation Indices"

11. Suitability map of forage production (Using
GIS Technology) at Ghara-Aghch, Iran

12. Quarantine Areas Around an Infected Farm.

13. CONCLUSION:
RS/GIS represents a new technology in livestock management for the reporting of livestock monitoring,
inventory, epidemiology, distribution, information, as well as the study and modeling of specific
disease problems. However, the technology is not a panacea in its own right and any adoption of such a
system must be preceded by a careful evaluation of information needs. A fully featured GIS software
package, the necessary hardware and the digital maps needed to run a complete system can be
relatively expensive, when all that may be required is a standard database management system and an
additional graphical package that can display colored maps with a certain amount of text or numeric
information appended. This would not provide any sophisticated spatial analysis functions, but may
suffice as a reporting system. As needs grow and resources become available, an investment in a more
complete system could be made. In epidemiological research for instance, there are three situations in
veterinary science where it is suggested that GIS will play an increasingly important role in the future:
the need to solve epidemiologically complex disease problems, the need rapidly to monitor highly
contagious diseases that might cross international boundaries, and the need to deal with politically
sensitive diseases for which prompt and accurate reporting is essential.

14. THE END!!!
•THANKS FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION.