Challenges and opportunities of tablet-based electronic performance data collection and feedback system for artificial insemination delivery in dairy cattle: experience from the land O’Lakes Venture37 PAID project in Ethiopia

Abstract

Land O’Lakes venture37 (v37) has been using Open Data Kit (ODK) to collect Artificial Insemination (AI) technicians’ field performance within the Public Private Partnership for Artificial Insemination Delivery (PAID) Ethiopia Project from Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities Peoples (SNNP), and Tigray regions. This study assesses the challenges and opportunities of the Tablet-based project field performance data collection and feedback system. Information gathered from AI technicians using a structured questionnaire was analyzed using the crosstabulation procedures of SPSS and index methods. Almost all (96.7%) the interviewees had never used Tablet for data collection before PAID project. After training, about 82% of the respondents were able to use the ODK tool to collect and send data to PAID. However, there were reports on the challenges of using ODK that include poor or interruption of internet connectivity (index = 0.272), lengthy (time taking) nature of the forms (index = 0.241), and difficulty of updating the system (index = 0.093). Almost all the respondents were willing to use ODK in the future, provided internet is available and reliable (index = 0.248), and proper training is given (index = 0.238) for using ODK provides confidence that the report is delivered (index = 0.259), and it is timesaving (index = 0.24).

Keywords:

• Artificial Insemination
• Cattle
• Dairy
• Ethiopia
• ODK
• PAID

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Field data can be collected using paper and/or electronically using tools like ODK. Artificial insemination (AI) technicians in Amhara, Oromia and SNNP regions who were trained to use ODK to collect data about Artificial Insemination Delivery in Dairy Cattle by Land O’Lakes Venture37 PAID project in Ethiopia were asked to provide their view on the challenges and opportunities of the Tablet-based data collection and feedback system. The result revealed that training about Tablet and ODK has helped AI technicians to use the technology to collect data and send it to PAID project. However, some of the respondents reported that poor or interruption of internet connectivity, the lengthy (time taking) nature of the forms, and difficulty in updating the system were the challenges of the system. Provided all the challenges are solved, AI technicians were willing to use ODK for future data collection.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their great appreciation to the PAID project for the financial support.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known conflicts of interest concerning this article’s research authorship and publication.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mengistie Taye

Zelalem Yilma Public Private Partnership for Artificial Insemination Delivery (PAID) was a seven years project implemented by the government of Ethiopia and Land O’Lakes Venture37. The objectives of the project were to improve the efficiency of AI technicians to increase demand among farmers and to enhance the input delivery system. The project was implemented in more than 200 districts in five regional states (Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, Sidama, and Tigray).