Denis Opudo
On 23rd November 2017, the first Agri Startup Summit was held in La Roche-sur-Yon in France. The startups are on a mission of charging how the agriculture sector is perceived. Many people perceive the agriculture sector as a traditional trade. In the summit, there were a total of 30 startups that were competing for the top award. Initially, there was a plan to have five awards, but the organizers added the sixth slot.
The winner of the competition was Pampaas. The startups check fences and warn the farmers when their livestock are almost moving away from their restricted area. The warning signal for the rapture or a short circuit on the fence is sent to the farmer’s phone. The startup is based in France.
On the second slot was Botanocap an Israel startup. The company developed a technology that is used for slow removal of volatile compounds like essential oils. The compounds are all green and biodegraded.
Samsys came at position three. The French-based startup formed a meter to supervise agricultural devices and help in the management of fleets. The startup is located in Lille France. E-agribusiness was the first African startup on the chart, and it occupied the fourth slot. The startup is based in Togo where it is hard to link farmers to buyers, and it hence came up with the platform to connect buyers with farmers. Through the platform, farmers are also able to get the advice of the viable ways and advice on climatic conditions.
The South African startup was not left behind in the slots. Farmboek came in the fifth position and second in Africa. The startup informs and advice farmers on diseases and pests attacking crops. The sixth slot was taken by Senegal based startup Dara Technology. The technology helps in lowering rate of livestock theft which is common in the country. On top of that, it helps in fighting the livestock diseases.
The summit was not the only meant for giving prices, but it was also a meeting place for the two continents that are realizing the importance of working together. The young and current farmers have been given the best platforms from the summit in getting the best from their investments.
