Bees play a key role in the preservation of our ecosystem,
the global fight against hunger and in ensuring our existence.
SAMS is an abbreviation for International Partnership on Innovation in Smart Apiculture Management Services. SAMS is a multi-national, interdisciplinary project, with the goal to promote beekeeping in tropical regions by applying Internet of Things (IoT) systems and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The solutions created by the project are accessible open-source. The three-year project enhances international cooperation on ICT technology and sustainable agriculture between the SAMS partners from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Latvia, Austria and Germany since January 2018. This project has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement N 780755.
Background
Bee health, good beekeeping practices and the promotion of beekeeping are essential for a sustainable agriculture worldwide. The current trend of degraded pollination power of suffering bee colonies threats general agricultural production. In addition, reduction of honey production is a risk to the businesses of beekeepers. The SAMS project follows the potential of digital tools which enable a better management of bees. The SAMS project works on three continents in three different scenarios of the apicultural sector:
- Africa – Ethiopia: Beekeepers have limited access to modern beehive equipment and bee management systems. The apicultural sector is far behind its potential. SAMS is currently implemented in the Oromia region, in SNNP regions and in Addis Ababa city.
- Asia – Indonesia: Beekeeping is a rarely conducted business and few professional processing organizations are existing. Support and marketing lead to a slow development of the apicultural sector. SAMS is currently implemented in West Java.
- Europe: Consumption and trading of honey products are increasing whereas the production is stagnating, and pollination services are underdeveloped. SAMS is currently implemented in Germany and Latvia.
Project partners from Ethiopia are ICEADDIS IT Consultancy PLC and Oromia Agricultural Research Institute Holeta Bee Research Centre. Indonesian project partners are CV. Primary Indonesia and Universitas Padjadjaran. Project partners from Europe are University of Graz, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, University of Kassel and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Technical implementation of the SAMS Project
The SAMS project aims to develop and offer an open source remote monitoring technology which supports beekeepers in managing and monitoring the health and level of productivity of bee colonies. Therefore, beehives are equipped with sensors to measure different variables that are representative for the status of bee colonies. The logged data is transferred to a central, online SAMS Data Warehouse. The data monitoring is beneficial for two stakeholder groups: First, beekeepers receive additional information on their bee colonies’ status from wherever they are and can use this information for their decisions in beekeeping. Second, researchers can access the worldwide monitored data about bee colonies for studies and scientific recommendations on apiculture.
Small-scale beekeeping businesses provide perfect innovation labs for demonstration and dissemination of cheap and easy-to-use open source ICT applications. The integrated Decision Support System (DSS) constitutes a remunerative incentive for the beekeepers to use such ICT applications as it ensures bee productivity. The DSS provides recommendations for managing monitored beehives based on the analysis of the logged beehive data. The recommendations are adapted to the country-specific context. The internationally collected beehive data is accessible in the SAMS Data Warehouse. Additionally, a SAMSwiki is developed comprising a data base on beekeeping knowledge and information about the SAMS system. It includes facts how to increase the quality of honeybee products and improve the health of honeybee colonies. 10 Rules of Honeybee Management which are applicable world-wide are part of the SAMSwiki.
Partnerships in the SAMS project
To enable a dissemination of the SAMS system after the project’s end, three international partnership networks are established to address the beekeepers’ needs and requirements in the project target countries and strengthen international cooperation between the EU and developing countries in ICT.
International Partnership on SAMS Business development
This partnership focusses on mutual learning, knowledge exchange on modern beekeeping and business development as well as trade of SAMS products. Activities include networking and knowledge exchange with stakeholders from different parts of the world on issues of business and trade; mutual support in accessing and using market information, and in identifying funding opportunities for businesses. The target group consists of beekeepers, modern beekeeping startups and SAMS startups, scientists, NGOs and other stakeholders from the beekeeping and business sectors. Main partners are Holeta Bee Research Centre (Ethiopia) and Labtek Indie (Indonesia).
International Partnership on Data Management and Utilization
This partnership focusses on issues of data management and usability as well as mainstreaming of the SAMS Decision Support System (DSS). The first activity is the support in accessing and using the SAMS Data Warehouse with the beekeepers’ monitoring devices, knowledge exchange and research on data management and utilization issues and mainstreaming of the SAMS DSS and SAMS Data Warehouse. The second activity includes knowledge exchange on issues of bee health and bee productivity through SAMSwiki content creation and management as well as development of the platform. The target group consists of beekeepers, modern beekeeping and data management startups, researchers, data management associations. Main partners are Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technology (Latvia) and University of Graz.
International Partnership on ICT Technology and Services
This partnership will focus on the development of the SAMS technology for bee-management and bee-health services. Activities comprise the rental and testing of the SAMS devices for the optimization of bee-management, queen breeding and the HIVE system based on User Centered Design principles; gaining knowledge and understanding of bee colonies. The target group consists of beekeepers, bee breeders, startups interested in technology, and researchers. Main partner is University of Kassel (Germany).
User Centered Design approach
The primary success factor for SAMS is the development of understandable and useable solutions for all user groups, beekeepers as well as scientist and commercial users. The partner countries Indonesia and Ethiopia are quite divergent in culture and other preconditions. This influences the development of the above-mentioned Decision Support System (DSS). Therefore, a team of local experts analyzes the requirements in each country.
Hereby, SAMS follows the User Centered Design (UCD) approach to create business concepts in the bee product value chain with ICT applications. This approach ensures that needs, demands and limitations of end-users of the ICT applications are met independently of the regional context. The SAMS UCD approach foresees the following specific implementation actions:
- Identify preconditions, potentials and user´s needs through research and context analysis in SAMS partner countries.
- Include end-user in solution development of the (1) Advisory and (2) Decision Support System (DSS) through SAMS User Centered Design Cycles
- Set up first pilot proto-hives for further iterations and adaptions of the developed ICT solution to regional settings and users’ needs
- Enable the end-user to monitor and manage bee colonies in a sustainable and efficient way by taking bee-health aspects in consideration
- Development of business concepts along the bee value chain
Capacity Development measures
The UCD process iterates until the user requirements are met and is accompanied with locally conducted Capacity Development measures. Capacity Development measures are specifically conducted for modern beehive construction including use and maintenance of the related IT-systems and the use and optimization of the Decision Support System (DSS). Furthermore, these training measures raise awareness for specific bee-health as well as bee-management aspects among beekeepers.
“End hunger, achieve food security
and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” (SDG N°2)