University of Ghana, School of Agriculture Team shines at World Food Systems Innovation Challenge
Team Soil Pulse AI from the University of Ghana on 29 September 2026 made it to the top 6 teams selected in this year's Food Systems Innovation Challenge held at the Wageningen University & Research (WUR), in the Netherlands. For their achievement, Soil Pulse AI received a €1,000 cash prize and an invitation to represent Ghana at the World Food Forum in Rome, Italy next year - 2027. The year’s theme centered on Nature-based Solutions for addressing Food Systems challenges. In total, there were 30 teams made up of 17 universities from 4 continents covering Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Senegal, South Korea, Suriname, Uganda, and Vietnam. The membership of team Soil Pulse AI is made up of Alberta Aseye, Akosua Agbakpe, Nathaniel Gogoe, Elinam Perfect Agbedzi and a team leader - Mr. Timothy Dzadey. Soil Pulse AI provides real-time soil health monitoring delivered through a multilingual mobile app and SMS alerts, making precision agriculture accessible even in remote, low literacy contexts. By optimizing water and fertilizer use. The team leader – Mr. Timothy Dzadey indicated that Soil Pulse AI believes that the future of food systems cannot rest on farmers alone. Farmers need access to the right knowledge, technologies, partnerships, and support systems to produce sustainably, improve their livelihoods, and build more resilient food systems. Mr. Dzadey indicated that they are particularly passionate about the role young innovators are playing in developing solutions that address the challenges farmers face in their daily lives.
Soil Pulse AI has a strategic partnership with DeepLeaf headed by Davide Menguzzato. DeepLeaf has expertise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for monitoring crop health. Together, this joint collaboration is developing solutions for cocoa farmers in Ghana, combining soil and crop intelligence with AI to support digital farmer passports, traceability and access to export markets. SoilPulse AI remains open to more collaboration and partnerships in strengthening and scaling our innovation across Ghana and Africa.
Soil Pulse AI expressed heartfelt appreciation to Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP), the project manager Mirjam Troost, Prof. Daniel Adu Ankrah (Head of Department, Agricultural Extension) who serves as the national coordinator for the Challenge in Ghana, and Prof. Eric Kwesi Nartey, Dean of the School of Agriculture, a member of the Challenge’s Advisory Board and the entire team for organizing such a world class innovative programme that brings together young innovators, changemakers, encourages learning, and turns shared ideas into opportunities for meaningful impact.Soil Pulse AI’s success highlights the University of Ghana’s commitment to advancing youth-led, research-driven solutions for sustainable agriculture and food security..