By Debbiemuse
Three students of the University of Ibadan have emerged winners of the 2026 Africa Space Expo IoT Innovation Challenge in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, after developing a satellite-powered technology aimed at protecting farmlands and reducing farmer-herder conflicts.
The students, who competed as Team Orculus, represented Nigeria at the continental competition, which brought together entries from 16 African countries. Finalists emerged from Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Zimbabwe, with the University of Ibadan team ultimately taking first place with its agricultural monitoring solution.
Team Orculus comprises Joseph Alfred, a 400-level Mechanical Engineering student and team lead; Oteri Oghenekevwe Oluwalaanumi, a final-year Physics student; and Ajulo-Omojesu Praise Abayomi, an MSc Geology student.
Their winning innovation, Orculus, combines smart livestock collars, satellite data relays and dynamic geofencing to monitor the movement of grazing livestock.
Unlike systems that depend heavily on mobile networks, the technology is designed to function in rural areas without cellular coverage, allowing livestock movements to be tracked even in locations where conventional communication infrastructure is limited.
The system is designed to provide an early warning when livestock approach designated farmland. Through these alerts, farmers can take preventive action before grazing animals enter their fields and damage crops.
Beyond monitoring livestock, the students say the technology is intended to address a wider challenge facing agricultural communities across Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.
By creating a system that can identify potential encounters between grazing herds and farmland before they escalate, Orculus seeks to reduce crop losses and help minimise the conditions that can lead to farmer-herder conflicts.
The innovation earned Team Orculus a $1,000 prize from the competition organisers. The team’s achievement also attracted support from the University of Ibadan, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Kayode Adebowale awarding the students an additional ₦1 million grant.
For the students, however, the competition represents only the beginning of the project. Team Orculus is now working towards developing the prototype into a full-scale agritech startup capable of deployment beyond the competition.
The team is seeking partnerships with government agencies, agricultural organisations, and dairy cooperatives to pilot the technology in different parts of Nigeria. Such partnerships, the team believes, could provide an opportunity to test Orculus in real agricultural settings and refine the system for wider use.
