Realizing that post-harvest losses were high among horticulture farmers, Samantha Ainembabazi and her colleagues thought of a solution to the problem through nanotechnology.
Under their Uganda-based firm, Freza Nanotech, their innovative solution consists of a formulation - and sachets - that inhibits key enzymes responsible for fruit deterioration, enabling fruits and vegetables to stay fresh for up to 31 days without refrigeration, according to information from the firm.
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"At Freza we use nanotechnology, so we are merging technology with agriculture; we are more into fruits and vegetable preservation," said Samantha Ainembabazi, Freza Nanotech co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, adding that the technology works by slowing down the process of ripening.
Ainembabazi, 23, made the observations as she spoke to journalists, at the inaugural Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Africa Conference themed 'Reimagining Africa's Agriculture in the Next 50 Years," which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, on June 11.
She was among young African agritech innovators who convened for the conference, which was organised by Heifer International, a global nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture.
The meeting intended to explore the potential of Africa's youth and innovation to transform agriculture for sustainable food systems.
The innovators at the event also included Afri-Farmers Market, a Kigali-based social enterprise that aims to address challenges faced by smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa.
It uses its e-commerce platform that empowers rural and smallholder farmers by providing them with a stable market for their agricultural produce among urban consumers.
Norman Mugisha, founder of Afri-Farmers Market, said the e-commerce platform addresses market uncertainty for the farmer, which is a major challenge.
"We want that a farmer grows crops being ensured of the market, and the consumer gets food delivered to him/her without struggling," Mugisha said, indicating that through the platform, the firm knows when the farmers with which it signed contracts will harvest their crops such as tomatoes, onions or carrots.
The firm, he said, buys produce from farmers, stores it in its cold rooms or collection centres in Kigali, and then deliver it to clients including hotels, restaurants, and schools that order food from its e-commerce platform.
Agri opportunities awaiting youth through leveraging tech
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Eric Rwigamba, said agriculture faces challenges including soils that are not properly taken care of, issues with seeds, inadequate access to fertilisers, agriculture being dominated by old people who did not go to school, those who are hopeless, and those who have nothing else to do.
Climate change effects including destruction of crops, post-harvest losses that vary depending on value chains, are also a problem, Rwigamba observed, pointing out "in some value chains and some countries, post-harvest losses can go up to 40 per cent and 50 per cent."
Also, he said that access to market is a big challenge [for some farmers], citing cases where vegetables and fruits go bad as a result, in some countries.
For him, such challenges present huge opportunities for the young people through leveraging technology.
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Rwigamba also underscored the need to change the narrative from agriculture that is subsistence in nature, that is depending on nature and prayers, and left to those who are helpless, "to agriculture that is in the hands of young people, educated, learned and well facilitated."
"When youth meet technology to take forward agriculture and transform it, that's a time we are going to stop seeing our young people dying in oceans trying to look for greener pastures. That's a time we are going to find rebel groups not able to recruit anymore young people into hopeless civil wars," he said
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"That's a time when we are going to end hunger. That's a time when we are going to use technology to increase production and productivity," he added, indicating that it is in the hands of the youth to leverage on technology to find solutions to climate change challenges [such as through tech-based irrigation], and link farmers to markets.
ALSO READ: Is Africa's quest to attract 30% of the youth to agriculture achievable?
Surita Sandosham, the President and CEO of Heifer International told the young innovators "the millions of smallholder farmers in the continent need your innovations. And as you continue this exciting journey of transforming agriculture, Heifer International is here to support you. Through initiatives such as the AYuTe, we will work with you to leverage the needed resources and capacity to become the architects of change that you want to be for your communities."
