Youth meet to develop ICT solutions for agriculture

ICT students and tech entrepreneurs last weekend gathered at KLab, Rwanda’s technical hub for a 36-hour programming competition aimed at coming up with ICT solutions for the agriculture sector. The competition, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Rwandan ICT chamber brought together 49 participants - from students to members of the business community. The participants were tasked with challenges to come up with ICT solutions that would either help with information sharing/communication between farmers and extension workers or make it possible for farmers to access financial services with ease. The competition also served to select the country’s representatives to an oncoming regional solutions competition that will take place during the ICT4Ag conference due in Kigali from November 4 to 7. Participants who were divided into groups of four worked 36 hours nonstop from Saturday morning to Sunday night to identify a particular challenge and make applicable solutions which were on Sunday evening presented before a panel of judges. The panel of judges was made up of Managing Directors of tech companies, a professor from Carnegie Mellon University Rwanda Campus and a representative of the Ministry of Education.Fertiliser logicThe winning group made up of students from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (Kist) presented a hardware and software solution, and fertiliser logic that determines the quantity of Nitrogen Phosphorus and potassium in the soil. They were awarded with a laptop, a chance to participate in the upcoming regional competition and incubation facilities to polish their projects. The other four runners-up were also awarded with laptops. Explaining on the Criteria used to determine the winners, Clement Uwajeneza, the founder and managing director of Axis Ltd, said they were looking out for the practicality of the innovations presented. “We were looking out for the feasibility and originality of the presentations. We wanted to see how they would solve the challenges farmers face.Hillary Muramira, a member of winning group, said that being in touch with the end user of their innovation enabled them to come up with a winning project.“We are looking forward to actualise our concept and make business out of our innovation.”For the oncoming regional competition, he said they were excited to have a chance to represent the country.“It is now no-longer a small competition, it is a chance to represent the country and we have to refine our innovation further and believe we stand a chance with the projects we have.”Mary Rucibigango, the coordinator at Agricultural Information and Communication Centre, said that the Ministry of Agriculture was looking to work with the IT sector to improve on agricultural delivery. “This application and solutions will help us improve on agricultural service delivery which will grow the sector. Most of the solutions presented are applicable in dealing with some of the challenges farmers and the sector in general face, so the ministry is interested in this partnership.”Sheila Birgen, the Community Manager of M-lab East Africa, a regional World Bank initiative that works to help start-ups grow, said the event was part of a larger plan to enable members of the ICT sector receive mentoring to actualise their innovations. From dreams to reality “Most of the ideas presented can actually be transformed in actual business and solutions to the agriculture sector with a little incubation and mentorship.”The winners will face other participants from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Ethiopia for a prize of 5000 Euros amongst other awards.

National

Youth meet to develop ICT solutions for agriculture