The Innovation Olympics 2017 is a competition that challenges the next generation of agriculture, business and technology leaders to develop innovative solutions to real-life challenges of smallholder vegetable farmers.
Last September 29, 2017 we saw the breed of young and intellectual minds a eight groups of students presented their own technological solutions. With the theme “New Technologies to Improve the Productivity of Vegetable Farmers”, the East-West Seed Innovation Olympics encourages students to tackle real-world problems experienced by local farmers and challenge them to come up with innovative technology solutions to help improve farmer’s productivity.
As an agriculture graduate myself, I was so amazed by these students. We might be tackling the same farmer’s dilemma but several years ago, when I was a student our approach to solving the problems was so much different by how these students presented their proposed solutions. Yes! Through the use of digital technology.
The Innovation Olympics 2017 was conceptualized by East-West Seed Companyin celebration of its 35th Year Anniversary. As part of its core values, that is, “Learning and Innovation”. The goal was to involve more people in the mission of serving smallholder farmers by harnessing new technologies to improve the productivity in vegetable farming.
Among thirteen (13) project proposals presented, eight groups made it to the final pitch which was held last 29 September 2017 at The REDREC Auditorium, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Laguna. The eight teams are:
1. TINDEROW (UPLB) – An online platform that aims to have an efficient transaction between the buyers and the farmers. The said platform is convenient for consumer and farmers as it eliminates the value-addition among the middlemen of the value chain.
2. MINERVA (UPLB) – A modular and intelligently automated aquaponic system that will serve as an alternative source of income for the farmers. By using several existing artificial intelligence, as well as microcontrollers and sensors for automation, the farmers will be able to focus on their arms while their aquaponic system is running by itself.
3. LIGHT AGRITECH (UPLB) - The introduction of "smart solar-powered irrigation system"aims to save water and improve crop production of our vegetable farmers as it automates the irrigation of a vegetable farm.
4. LAGUNA SANGRE (UPLB) - the project will utilize cropping systems technologies in crop intensification and diversification to optimize the land utilization.
5. i-AGRI VENTURES (UPLB)- it aims to provide an affordable, effective and sustainable means of increasing the total productivity of tomato farms through monitoring the soil moisture content to avoid the effect of insufficient and excessive water in tomato and developing a postharvest facility that may decrease post-harvest losses and increase market value of the crop.
6. AGRIVIZ (Asian Institute of Management) - an agricultural e-commerce platform that aims to incorporate data analytics and disseminate information to improve the productivity and profitability of Filipino vegetable farmers.
7. AGRISSIVE (UPLB) - an organically made agrochemical solution which can be a culmination of two agricultural inputs: pesticide and fertilizer. Such product can be a convenient tool for ensuring the quality and safe consumption of the produce as well as another source of income for the community in times of need.
8. TEAM OPPA (UPLB) - the technology is a simple contraption that utilizes different sensors and data to inform the farmer about the details of his vegetable farm through SMS or text messaging.
Each of the projects presented were evaluated based on: entrepreneurial approach, business innovation, improving farmer's quality of life, and in improving the farmers' standard of living.
The board of judges were composed of technical experts from the East-West Seed Group chaired by it Vice-President Mr. Simon Jan de Hoop. Other members were Mr. Juan Santos, Ms. Anne Isabelle Sam, Ms. Mary Ann Sayoc, Ms. Maaike Groot, and Mr. Henk Hermans.
Finally,the top three innovative ideas that emerged as the big winners are: 1.)Team Agriviz of the the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Their e-magsasaka business model converts farmers’ mindset to being market-driven rather than production-driven; 2.)
Team i-Agri Ventures of UP Los Banos effectively defended their innovative idea of a “multi-crop dryer” that hopes to significantly increase farmers’ revenue by increasing the market value of thee crop and reducing post-harvest losses; and 3.)Team Oppa, also of UP Los Banos, came out with a technology that could increase the yield of farmers by as high as 87.5% using the very popular text messaging. Their contraption makes use of the weather, predicting rain pattern and effectively informs the farmers farm information in 30 seconds which normally takes 2-3 hours.
The 3 winning teams were provided with an initial seed money of P150,000. For 120 days, they will implement their project in their selected farming community.
The East-West Seed Company, accordingly will be hands-on in monitoring the progress of the student's projects. Given their technical expertise, they will also provide guidance and assist the top groups.
In January 2018, the team with the project that exemplified entrepreneurial innovation and made the most significant impact in their adopted farming community will be declared as the EWS Innovation Olympics Grand Champion and receive PhP 250,000 cash prize.
About East-West Seed
East-West Seed is an integrated vegetable seed company engaged in the development, production and distribution of tropical vegetable seeds.
For many years, the company has recognized that access to quality seeds and sharing knowledge go hand in hand. East-West Seed is actively involved in farmer training and extension to support farmers with knowledge and skills in profitable vegetable production.
Today, East-West Seed is one of the 10 largest vegetable seed companies in the world, with a leading position in the most important Southeast Asian countries and rapid expansion into India, China, Africa and South America.
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