Farm.ink, a Kenyan-based Agri-tech start-up has won cash prize of US$150,000 for winning the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize at the AfricaCom conference. The challenge is organised by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Land O’Lakes International Development, and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
Winners were announced last week at the AfricaCom conference after a co-creation and evaluation process and field-testing of prototypes, with prizes worth US$450,000 awarded to six organisations.
The overall winner which is Farm.ink took home the grand prize of US$150,000, was Kenyan start-up. Two runners-up: Akorion (Uganda) and US based, AfriFARM secured US$75,000 each.
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US$50,000 was awarded to two Ghana-based initiatives – Farmerline and Henson Geodata Technologies – as well as the Nigerian-based eHealth Africa, to further develop early-stage mobile applications that will provide tailored information for combatting fall armyworm.
The prize received 228 entries from organizations around the world, 80 per cent of which were based in Africa. A diverse panel of global experts working in agriculture, technology entrepreneurship, and impact investment judged the entries and made final selections.
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