YK Poudel

Phurpa Dorji, a 21-year-old third-year student at Gyalpoizhing College of Information Technology, is specialising in AI and Data Science. His team, consisting of nine members, pitched a project on ‘AI-powered crop monitoring’, which won the National Youth-Led Agrifood Innovation Challenge 2024 yesterday.

The challenge was a part of the National Youth Symposium, a two-day event co-ordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Bhutan.

Ten diverse and innovative business ideas related to agriculture were presented, including fruit processing, mushroom cultivation and processing, agri-tech solutions, and vegetable supply. Among them, Phurpa Dorji’s crop monitoring idea stood out.

As a second-year project last year, Phurpa Dorji and his friends formed a group called ‘TechWiz’ and began studying social issues. They discovered that Bhutanese farmers were facing a significant challenge—crop loss due to delayed detection of pests and diseases. The absence of real-time monitoring during the early stages led to severe crop damage and losses.

“A mobile phone app showing crop analysis was our solution,” Phurpa Dorji explained. “Our AI-powered application allows farmers to monitor their crops in real-time using images taken directly from their mobile devices.”

For the convenience of farmers, the application will feature two navigation buttons. After capturing an image of the crop, the app will detect the disease or pest and automatically provide a solution. This system can also be adopted by gewog RNR centers to offer timely support to farmers.

The team plans to use the award received yesterday as seed money to further develop their project. In the first phase, they have chosen Trashigang to test the application in the fields.

The application offers features such as image-based crop analysis, real-time monitoring, automatic issue detection, data-driven insights, and localised recommendations.

As the government prepares to implement crop insurance policy, the application can assist farmers and officials in making timely interventions and improving the monitoring process.

The team has partnered with NoMind Bhutan for further development and related initiatives.

Two other business ideas, Bhutan Astro Food and Pure Bhutan, won cash prizes of USD 2,000 each.

Sangay Choezom, a freelancer, pitched the idea of Bhutan Astro Food, an agrifood business focused on offering freeze-dried fruits and vegetables. “Freeze drying is an effective method of preserving fruits and vegetables, extending their shelf life to between 15 and 25 years,” she said.

“The freeze-dried products can retain 97 percent of its nutrients,” she added. “This process can be adopted by local farmers, helping to reduce food waste and generate rural employment.”