Agrix Tech, a startup in Cameroon, developed a platform that helps African farmers detect plant diseases.
Agrix Tech, based in Yaoundé, has been testing an artificial intelligence based platform to help African farmers tackle crop pests and plant diseases from their source, reports Quartz Africa.
The company is planning to roll out its platform across Africa beginning January 2020 when its commercial version will be released. The technology helps detects plant diseases and offers both chemical and physical treatment as well as prevention measures.
With Agrix Tech, farmers consult the app on their mobile phone, scan a sample of the affected plant and then discover solutions. The app provides both text and voice recognition technology in customised African local languages.
According to Adamou Nchange Kouotou, founder and CEO of Agrix Tech, the innovation comes in 2 forms: a mobile application for organisations which do not have AI teams and as an AI library to help developers add crop disease detection and diagnosis features into their apps. Agrix Tech has already been tested and confirmed by a renowned agro research agency. The innovation’s prototype has a 99% accuracy, according to its founder.
Once the commercial version is rolled out early next year, it will be able to detect multiple diseases in maize, rice, bell pepper, onions, tomato, Irish potato, pepper, mango, lemon, watermelon, cucumber, cabbage, groundnut, citrus, date palm, amongst others.
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