Global Innovation Challenge
  • The Global AgriInno Challenge 2020

    The Global AgriInno Challenge 2020, jointly organized by the FAO and Zhejiang University, aims to address the challenges associated with “distribution and sales of agriculture and food” by innovative solutions. The Challenge is composed of preliminary competition, training session and Global AgriInno Pitch Event. Due to COVID-19, the Challenge was conducted online via Zoom. The winning team can get seed fund and has the opportunity to participate in the bootcamp and visit the world-class agricultural innovation companies and organizations in 2021.

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    On December 3-4, 2020, 12 selected teams from Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Jamaica, Liberia, Nigeria, Spain, USA and Uganda attended 48-hour "Hacking-for-Good" online training. 8 specific training courses were provided for young agricultural innovators. Tutors, coaches and angel investors conducted online lectures and answered questions, helping trainees further improve the solutions. The training module covers the agriculture and business themes, ranging from practical tool to business model.On December 4, 2020, young agripreneurs and angel investors had the pre-pitch night and were prepared for the finals next day.

     

    On the evening of December 5, 2020, the final pitch event was held as scheduled. 12 young agricultural innovators presented to judges and audiences digital solutions for agricultural products distribution and sales. MS Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, served as the Chief Judge. Besides, the Jury also includes five other international digital agricultural and innovative experts from Zhejiang University, Pinduoduo, and CTA. The US/Liberia’s team Aquafarms won the first prize, two China’s teams Mi Terro, Tianfu Fenggu received the second prize, and teams from Spain, Bolivia and Uganda (Vertical Green, Sumajta Mikuna, Nampa Farmers Market) won the third prize. Finally, Mr Ye Anping, the director of FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division, declared ‘youth and women play a fundamental role in digital transformation of agri-food sector. South-South and Triangular Cooperation aims to foster an enabling ecosystem to harness digital technologies and innovation to end hunger and poverty and contribute to the development of digital economy, especially in the developing countries.”

     

    The following is the information of 12 shortlisted teams:

  • 127

    AquaFarms Africa

    AquaFarms Africa’s (AFA) aquaponic system is a sustainable, affordable and simple soil-less alternative to traditional farming. Our low-cost 12m x 12m systems made from 90% local materials use renewable energy to allow for climate-controlled farming. This facilitates year-round harvesting and increases availability and access to food, while also producing normally imported niche products which entices importers to purchase locally. Our app provides our users with a streamlined way to manage their aquafarms and allows us to have a dashboard which gives us insight into each farm, allowing us to provide support services at reduced costs and to more easily manage our supply chain.

    By sustainably providing high-value products to our target customers, we not only increase food security, but also food sovereignty as we compete with imports at better rates and quicker delivery, boosting the revenue of our urban farmers and creating decent employment for youth. The introduction of AFA in urban environments means we include urban youth in the agricultural conversation and transform cityscapes. AquaFarms Africa not only sustainably addresses accessibility to healthy and sustainable food, but also the need to boost youth employment faced in urban areas.

    Team members are from Liberia and USA.

    https://youtu.be/aB-COpEVvYA

  • 089

    Digital Apple

    Digital Apple is committed to realizing the digitization of the apple industry, connecting all nodes of the whole industrial chain, and realizing the realization of "speaking with data, managing with data, analyzing with data, and making decisions with data".

    The Information Center of the MARA led the establishment of the Apple Big Data Application Collaboration Group, committed to building apple's whole industrial chain data resource system, integrated development of a series of intelligent model algorithms, the construction of monitoring and early warning system, and the creation of data channel and information service APP for the public, that can help farmers save cost and increase efficiency, reduce disaster losses, and achieve precise connection between production and marketing, so that small farmers can better adapt to the big market, especially promote the distribution and sale of agri-food products, and drive the stable development of apple industry.

    Team members are from China.

    English version- http://www.moa.gov.cn/qtnr/202011/t20201108_6355940.htm
    Chinese version- http://www.moa.gov.cn/qtnr/202011/t20201108_6355938.htm

  • 006

    Farmisphere

    Farmisphere is a farmer-based ecommerce platform providing rural protein farmers access to a wider market, while ensuring the availability and affordability of protein products in the economy as well as improving the livelihood of rural protein farmers, through mitigating the problem of post-harvest losses and exploitation by middlemen in the agricultural sector via digital marketing.

    Farmisphere catalogues a network of rural protein farmers and offers an easy and user-friendly ecommerce store to businesses like restaurants, bakeries, eateries, hotels, families and individuals where they can conveniently purchase both fresh and processed protein needs such as catfish, chicken, beef, turkey & eggs and get it delivered to their doorsteps at an affordable price. In doing this we eliminate the tension of rural protein farmers to give in to being exploited and short-changed by middlemen in a bid to timely sell off their produce to avoid increased cost of production, as Farmisphere provides rural protein farmers timely access to a wider market through this digital marketing technology.

    Conclusively we eradicate exploitation of rural farmers through eliminating long chains of middlemen, as well as ensuring sufficient flow of animal and plant protein through transporting, processing and marketing protein needs from rural areas to all parts of the Rivers State in good quality and at an affordable rate.

    Team members are from Nigeria.

    https://youtu.be/YzjjcP4A0K4

  • 019

    Focused Loong Tech

    Beijing Focused Loong Technology Co, Ltd.(Abbr Focused Loongtech)focuses on intelligent pig raising research and promotion.

    We are the first company to publish the total solution for pig farms intelligence innovation.

    Team members are from China and Australia.

    https://pan.baidu.com/s/1MC9sFB6hg-JNZMMsyNTM7ACode:292b

  • 029

    ICAN

    The first company in China to provide full life cycle planting decision services from pre planting to harvest

    The research team is composed of PhD scientists with international research experience, and the core team has rich experience in Internet plus big data and modern agriculture.

    At present, digital models of seven crops (corn, rice, wheat, cotton, alfalfa, soybean and potato) have been established.

    Through the independent research and development of intelligent planting decision-making system - love plough, it can provide rapid and reasonable planting decision-making for agricultural producers.

    Team members are from China.

    https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDkwODg1MzIwNA==.html?sharefrom=iphone&sharekey=123d8dadebc33796c9a55b543375ad835

  • 022

    Mi Terro Milk Waste Packaging Film

    Mi Terro is the world's only biotechnology company that upcycles and re-engineers protein food waste into plastic and cotton alternative fibers for the fashion, medical, and packaging industries.

    We have the world's first technology that re-engineers spoiled, expired, and bad milk into plastic-alternative packaging material. Our film is cheaper than other bio-based materials while offering similar quality as petroleum-based plastic film. Our technology can change the world. We want to bring our technology to the world.

    Team members are from China.

    https://youtu.be/PQFWxwQZom8

  • 142

    Nampya Farmers Market

    A mobile-based platform connecting smallholder farmers with retailers, allowing daily deliveries of fresh food directly from farms

    Farmers announce produce ready for pick up

    Vendors order from available produce

    Nampya does daily deliveries to vendors

    Team members are from Uganda.

    https://youtu.be/OuWq3ZkHPHM

  • 125

    Northern Agro Services ltd

    Summary of the Solution- sustainable plant nutrients for global food production associated with distribution and sales of agrifood products

    Based on a new technology: have a proof of concept. Providing a safe alternative to chemical fertilizers.

    Chemical crop fertilizers are responsible for environmental pollution all around the world.

    A more sustainable alternative would be to replace them with living microbes that can interact with the plants to stimulate their growth and health.

    A way that supports social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

    www.northernfertilizer.com

    Team members are from Bangladesh.

    https://youtu.be/bzFLh-2ei6o

  • 102

    Sumajta Mikuna

    Due to COVID -19, both people and farmers have been economically affected, avoiding the purchase and sale of healthy products such as fruits and vegetables

    This is where the idea of Sumajta Mikuna was born, an innovative and revolutionary company in the field of agriculture and sustainable businesses that involves technology to BUILD A SOLID CONNECTION between farmers and potential consumers, showing their high quality products with strong nutritional value. guaranteeing not only THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE but also the well-being of our farmers avoiding waste in their production.

    Sumajta Mikuna's specialty is to offer consumers the assembly of a basket that includes various fruits and vegetables that are selected and organized with a specific amount of products in order to provide people with a content of products of high nutritional value at a totally accessible Price That Is Available To All People With A Limited Budget. Sumajta Mikuna makes its sales through a web application and direct sales (This due to the deep-rooted traditions of the chosen segment), where the distribution of this basket is carried out by means of Jack trucks and tricycles that go to specific points either to make your sale or send the order to consumers.

    Sumajta Mikuna not only guarantees the well-being of consumers but also of our farmer through an application that is managed by Android, SMS or a call center that provides information related to demand, sales and product traceability in order to contribute increasing food security and empowering our farmers.

    Team members are from Bolivia.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hnrOvLGCGc8bfn4T8YVXRghhbkGNfSpU/view?usp=sharing

  • 060

    TianfuFenggu

    Based on the real and digital economy of the bee industry, the smart beehive is the entry point to improve efficiency, reduce costs, open up the industry chain and form an industrial closure. Through digital empowerment, we will solve the problems of production, service, transaction, logistics, finance and other links in the bee industry chain, precipitate industrial big data to form an industrial data center, collaborate with service providers around the industry to form a collaborative service center, and dispatch service providers to complete service delivery through the data center, using the intelligent beehive as a breakthrough to realize the bee honey single product industry chain, online, digital, collaborative and intelligent. To create a digital economy for the bee industry.

    Team members are from China.

    https://pan.baidu.com/s/1Jr2Mp--O3bnFM_nNuPwr-gcode:21ge

  • 104

    Vertical Green

    Vertical Green is a Spanish start-up focused on vertical farming systems, agriculture technology and new disruptive digital services for farming, food production and logistics.

    As a technology company, our aim is to find new solutions for doing things out of the box, and this way, to target some of the multiple problems that will be challenging food production and food logistics in the incoming years.

    Spanish farms are mostly focused on produce exportation, with an overwhelming footprint associated to logistics, compromising quality and traditional varieties for increasing production and harvest resilience for trading.Vertical Green is setting projects in the main strawberry producing areas of Spain, bringing to them new farming solutions, based on modularity and scalability.

    New farming solutions more friendly with the environment and with low residue impact. But more important, solutions that allow our farmers to offshore their production to the target countries and to follow them up remotely thanks to IoT sensoring, increasing their product shelf life and profitability at once.

    Team members are from Spain.

    https://youtu.be/3dvGzUNUEBk

  • 008

    Virtudes Company

    Virtudes is a vertically integrated manufacturer of High-Grade CBD Oil. Virtudes Company Limited has obtained the permission for the import license of seeds from the Ministry of Agriculture and has also secured a licence to cultivate and manufacture hemp-based products for health and wellness.

    Team members are from USA and Jamaica.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eLmuy6Rh0s&feature=youtu.be

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