The Distributed IoT-Platforms, Privacy and Edge-Intelligence Research (DIPPER) Lab at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Sesi Technologies have secured funding through the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund from the UK International Development.
The grant will scale FarmSense, an AI-powered soil intelligence system, through a commercialisation and capacity-building programme.
FarmSense is an AI-powered soil intelligence system designed in Ghana to give farmers real-time insights on their soil health. It helps optimise fertilizer use, boost yields, and protect the environment.
Chief Executive Officer of Sesi Technologies, Isaac Sesi, believes the fund would enhance company’s operations to empower more farmers and transform the agriculture space.
“FarmSense was born from the belief that African farmers deserve world-technologies to make better decisions about their soils and boost productivity. With RISA Fund’s support, we can now scale this homegrown innovation to empower thousands of farmers, strengthen food security, and show how Ghanaian technology can transform agriculture.”
Originally developed under an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership between KNUST, DIPPER Lab, Sesi Technologies, and Manchester Metropolitan University, FarmSense represents a homegrown solution to the soil productivity challenges facing smallholder farmers.
The project is focused on scaling the technology and driving market adoption, in line with the UK-Ghana Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) strategy.
Driving Impact through Collaboration
The RISA funding highlights the potential of industry–academia partnerships in solving national development challenges.
RISA Country Technical Lead, Gameli Adzaho, highlighted the essence of partnership to foster agriculture growth.
“This initiative highlights the importance of strong cross-sectoral collaborations and international cooperation in delivering practical solutions that benefit farmers and the wider economy,” Gameli Adzaho noted.
The programme will build pathways to commercialise FarmSense by strengthening research–industry linkages,equip local innovators with tools to scale, and expand affordable soil diagnostics for smallholder farmers.
By advancing precision climate-smart agriculture, the initiative aims to improve incomes of farmers, protect the environment, and contribute to Ghana’s food security agenda.
Scaling for the Future
Led by Prof. Eric Tutu Tchao, the project teams at KNUST and Sesi Technologies are eager to seize this commercialization opportunity.
“With the networks and access that Impact Investing Ghana provides, this collaboration comes at the right time,” noted Prof. Tchao.
CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Amma Lartey, is upbeat about the potentials of the funding to sustain the agriculture sector.
“By channeling capital into solutions like FarmSense, we are unlocking the future of sustainable agriculture and community prosperity,” she noted.
The funding will enable wider deployment of FarmSense across regions, training programmes for farmers and extension officers, deeper stakeholder engagement, and enhancements to the FarmSense business model.
Key supporters of the project include the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Impact Investing Ghana, through the Ghana Research and Industry Collaborative (GRIC) and Deal Source Africa (DSA), and the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Unit of the Office of Grants and Research at KNUST.