‘Agriconnect’ will represent PH in the Red Bull Tokyo World Final

AI-powered farm tracking app Agriconnect won the Red Bull Basement National Final, earning the opportunity to represent the Philippines in the Tokyo World Final.

The competition was held at the Mind Museum in Taguig on October 26, 2024, where Agriconnect and nine other contestants pushed the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

READ: AI and human creativity

The tournament shone a spotlight on the future of Filipino ingenuity.

More importantly, the national champion will allow the Philippines to shine globally.

Agriconnect: Creativity and practicality reaps innovation

Agriconnect blossomed from the mind of Soj Gamayan, a 22-year-old BS Communications Technology Management student from the Ateneo De Manila University.

In his pitch, Gamayan explained the three risks to Philippine agriculture: crop diseases, heat waves and pest infestation. 

“How they [farmers] would traditionally manage this they would just look at the thing and be like, ‘Oh, there’s something wrong with that.’“

“The problem is you’re only preventing the 20% of what could have been prevented by the 80%. You cannot see with the naked eye the threat as it starts,” he continued.

“That is why it impacts $264 million of agricultural loss annually and 30% potential yield because you’re not able to have this real-time information management.” 

Fortunately, Agriconnect is a viable solution. “It’s AI that helps rice companies manage the risks through AI and IoT.”

It facilitates farm risk management with three steps:

1. Collect data from multi-spectral IoT sensors.
2. Transmit AI insights to the mobile app.
3. Then, farmers can act on these insights.

The sensors can detect soil moisture, water levels and pests. Then, the app will summarize the data and classify the threat as “serious,” “mild” and “good.”

These levels come in red, yellow and green, allowing users to mitigate risks immediately. 

Agriconnect wowed the Red Bull Basement expert jury panel, namely: 

• Carlo Ople (Unbox Creator Network CEO)
• Rafael Dionisio (2023 APEC Circular Economy Awardee and The Circle Hostel Co-founder)
• Dr. Eduardo Canela (International consultant and capacity development (CD) practitioner)

“It’s inspiring to see someone think of the problem and figure out innovations to make it easier for farmers as well as the end users or the customers,” noted Ople about the winning innovation.

Gamayan will compete for the Philippines in the Red Bull Basement World Final in Tokyo, Japan in December.