Esther Kimani emerged winner of Africa’s biggest engineering award, the Royal African Academy of Engineers Award for Engineering Innovation, in Nairobi on 13 June 2024.
The Crop Pest and Disease Early Detection Device was selected as the winning innovation for its ability to quickly detect and identify agricultural pests and diseases, reducing crop losses for smallholder farmers by up to 30% while increasing yields by up to 40%.
Record
Five million smallholder farmers in Kenya are losing out on average 33% of their crops to pests and diseases. Kimani’s innovation not only provides real-time alerts within five seconds of infestation, offering tailored intervention recommendations, but also alerts government agriculture officials to the presence of disease or pests, contributing to broader agricultural management efforts.
The solar-powered tool uses computer vision algorithms and advanced machine learning to detect and identify crop pests, pathogens or diseases, and the nature of the infection or infestation. The device then notifies the farmer via SMS.
This affordable alternative to traditional detection methods rents for just $3 a month, significantly cheaper than hiring drones or agricultural inspectors.
About the Africa Prize
The annual Africa Prize was established by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014 to support innovators developing sustainable and scalable engineering solutions to local challenges in Africa. This year, the Africa Prize alumni community grew to nearly 150 entrepreneurs from 23 countries, who together have created more than 28,000 jobs and benefited more than 10 million people through their innovative products and services.
To celebrate the Prize’s 10th anniversary, the Royal Academy of Engineering hosted the Africa Prize Alumni Reunion, bringing together 100 innovators from the past decade for a three-day program before the final ceremony. This momentous occasion demonstrated the power of the community that the Award brings together.
What they say
Esther said:My parents would lose up to 40% of their crops each growing season, which affected our standard of living. We enable smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, to increase their income. Our goal is to scale to one million farmers in the next five years.”
said Malcolm Brinded:”These awards are part of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s investment of over £1 million in African innovators through grants, awards and accelerator programs during the tenth anniversary of the Africa Prize.“
The three runners-up who were each awarded KSh 2.5 million to develop their innovations were;
Ecological TilesKevin Maina, Kenya:
- An environmentally friendly roofing material made from recycled plastic. Stronger and lighter than clay or concrete tiles, the innovation is a dual solution to plastic pollution and high manufacturing costs.
- The innovative manufacturing process involves a customized extrusion machine that mixes different plastics at varying temperatures, eliminating the need for energy-intensive processes such as firing in an oven and reducing carbon emissions. The tiles are reinforced with UV stabilization chemicals and construction sand to improve durability and sturdiness.
La Ruche HealthRory Assandey, Ivory Coast:
- La Ruche Health connects communities with vital health information, advice and services through ‘Kiko’, an AI chatbot tool available on WhatsApp and mobile apps and a digital backend solution to streamline documentation, billing and data sharing for professionals.
- By May 2024, AI has facilitated more than 150,000 user interactions and 189 home and teleconsultation appointments, processing over $18,000 in medical bills, demonstrating its effectiveness and scalability.
Yo-WasteMartin Tumusiime, Uganda:
- Addressing the growing waste crisis in Uganda, Yo-Waste is a location-based mobile application that connects homes and businesses with independent agents for efficient on-demand waste collection and disposal.
- Yo-Waste currently serves more than 1,500 customers, including homes, businesses and waste collection agents, with the goal of reaching 20,000 users by 2026.
The 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, launched in the 2024 final, is now open for entries. The Academy seeks scalable engineering solutions designed to solve local challenges, and individuals and small groups living and working in sub-Saharan Africa are invited to participate. The deadline for declarations of participation is October 15.
Visit it How to Apply Guide. on the Africa Prize website.
Follow us on our WhatsApp channel, Twitter/Xand subscribe to our weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any news.
Related