HerdSense is built by Zizian — a South African technology company obsessed with one question: why do farmers still lose cattle to theft and disease when the technology to stop it exists?
THE PROBLEM
South African farmers lose billions every year to two preventable problems: theft and undetected disease. The tools to stop both exist — GPS, LoRa radio, temperature sensors — but nobody had combined them into a product designed for African conditions: no cell signal, extreme heat, rough terrain, and cattle worth a year's salary each.
Existing trackers need a SIM card per animal (R200/month, per cow), have 6-month batteries, and were designed for European farms with 4G coverage everywhere. They don't work here. We built HerdSense because we needed it to work here.
OUR MISSION
"Livestock is the savings account, the pension fund, and the pride of millions of South African families. When a cow is stolen or dies from an undetected illness, a family doesn't just lose an animal — they lose years of work. HerdSense exists to stop that."
Malcom Miya
Founder & CEO, Zizian (Pty) Ltd
THE TEAM
HerdSense isn't built by people who read about farming. It's built by people who grew up near farms, work with farmers, and won't stop until South African livestock is fully protected.
Malcom Miya
Founder & CEO
Systems Architecture · Business Strategy · Farmer Relations
Malcom built HerdSense after witnessing first-hand the cattle theft crisis devastating communities across KwaZulu-Natal. A systems thinker with deep roots in the agricultural technology space, he designed the HerdSense platform architecture from the ground up to solve specifically South African problems.
Zizian Tech Team
Engineering & Hardware
LoRa Firmware · Cloud Platform · PCB Design · Embedded Systems
Our engineering team designed the HerdSense smart ear tag from component level — ATGM336H GPS module, Reyax RYLR998 LoRa transceiver, STM32L072 microcontroller, and dual ER14505 Li-SOCl₂ batteries. Every hardware decision trades off battery life, field durability and cost.
Veterinary Advisory
Animal Health Partners
Health Algorithm Design · Disease Threshold Calibration · Clinical Validation
HerdSense temperature thresholds and activity anomaly algorithms were developed in collaboration with veterinary partners who understand the clinical reality of bovine disease in South African conditions — from East Coast Fever to Foot and Mouth. Our health detection is clinically grounded, not guesswork.
Government & NGO Advisory
Agricultural Policy Partners
DAFF Alignment · Community Deployment · Tribal Authority Relations · Grant Applications
HerdSense works with government departments, agricultural cooperatives and NGOs to deploy the community livestock intelligence platform (Stage 1 digital records). Our Chief dashboard is designed to meet Department of Agriculture reporting requirements and integrate with existing livestock registration programmes.
THE HARDWARE
The HerdSense ear tag is a precision instrument. Not a repurposed pet tracker, not a prototype — a production-ready device designed specifically for livestock in African field conditions. Here are the specs.
ROADMAP
GET IN TOUCH
No contact form that goes to a support queue. No sales team handoff. You call or email Malcom directly — the person who built HerdSense and who will personally help you understand whether it's right for your farm.
Pilot pack: 3 smart ear tags + 1 LoRa gateway. Deploy on your highest-risk paddock. See results in 24 hours.