Home Youth Two Nepali agro-tech firms receive Data-Driven Farming Prize for innovative agricultural solutions

Two Nepali agro-tech firms receive Data-Driven Farming Prize for innovative agricultural solutions

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Kathmandu, September 8, 2017: Two Nepali ICT firms, Db2Map and ICT for Agriculture have been awarded Data-Driven Farming Prize by the United States Government’s Feed the Future Initiative for their innovative solutions in utilizing information and communications technology to improve agricultural productivity.

The Kathmandu-based firm Db2Map was declared winner in the most viable solutions category, and received a $100,000 award for its GEOKrishi program that integrates satellite data with government and crowd-sourced information to assess land and soil conditions to help farmers maximize crop yields.

Similarly, ICT for Agriculture, winner in the significant potential category, was provided with $50,000 for their mobile and web-based platform that provides comprehensive agricultural information to rural farmers.

ICT for Agriculture

The Data-Driven Farming Prize attracted a total of 143 applicants from 21 countries, including 83 from Nepal. Of the 13 finalists, six were from Nepal.

Along with two Nepali ICT firms, German-based PEAT and Canadian-based Spero Analytics technology firms, were also awarded with $100,000 and $50,000 awards respectively.

Speaking on the award ceremony, Amy Tohill-Stull, Acting Mission Director at USAID Nepal shared that ‘data’ should no longer reside on computer servers at research institutes. “We must make it open and accessible to Nepal’s farmers, agribusiness owners, and all stakeholders across the agriculture value chain. This is what we mean by “data-driven farming,” she expressed on the occasion.

Launched in February 2017 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the $300,000 Data-Driven Farming Prize recognizes innovative tools and approaches that source, analyze, and provide actionable information to help smallholder farmers in Nepal, and around the world, improve their productivity.