Written by A team of students of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, has invented an IoT Automation machine- an AI-powered crop disease detection application, designed to measure real-time soil moisture and weather condition for farmers geared towards improving food value chain.
Described as ‘’the Smart Irrigation and Market Linkage System’’, the AI-powered crop disease detection App uses artificial intelligence and image recognition to identify signs of disease on crops by analyzing photos taken with a camera.
The project team lead, Benjamin Adenola, while sharing their success story with the University Public Relations Office on Wednesday, 18th June, 2025, stated that the Mobile app built on computer vision and deep learning models, addresses challenges in the agricultural sector by helping farmers to determine when a problem that often results in food wastes are detected. He noted that early detection allows farmers to take timely action, thereby preventing widespread damage and minimizing yield loss.
He explained that the App adds significant value to the production and processing stages of the food value chain—ensuring healthier crops, reducing chemical misuse, as well as boosting food security and market competitiveness. The young inventor stressed that their motivation stemmed from the need to reduce wastage and improve accuracy in food quality assessment.