(ECNS) -- The Global AgriInno Challenge 2025 concluded in Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, where nine youth-led agri-startup teams, selected from 519 applications across 97 countries, showcased their innovative digital agriculture solutions during the final competition.
The event, co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Zhejiang University, and Pinduoduo, a leading Chinese e-commerce platform, is a flagship innovation initiative that empowers young agripreneurs to develop and scale sustainable digital solutions aimed at enhancing climate resilience, supply chain efficiency, and nutritional security.
In his keynote address, Vincent Martin, Director of the FAO Office of Innovation, stated, "Rising temperatures, dwindling resources, and fragile supply chains threaten millions—especially smallholder farmers, women, and rural communities. Yet these challenges also offer an extraordinary opportunity: to reimagine agriculture through AI, blockchain, precision farming, and circular economy models that are efficient, equitable, and sustainable."
He added that, through partnerships with Zhejiang University and Pinduoduo, the FAO has witnessed how innovation can turn barriers into breakthroughs—from digital hubs providing real-time data to farmers, to youth-led startups reducing food waste through IoT.
After nearly three hours of intense pitching at the event, SafeSip from Tanzania won Gold for improving poultry drinking water safety across East Africa. The project helps farmers reduce disease incidence and mortality rates in poultry, cut antibiotic use, and recoup their initial investment within a short period.
China's "Swine Herd Real-time Guard Battle" took Silver, using AI and multi-sensor to monitor pigs around the clock, enabling faster growth, healthier herds, and lower emissions. "Our team hopes to use this platform to promote our technology globally, serving the pig farming industry on a larger scale and helping the sector improve through digital solutions," said a team member.
The U.S. PlantPulse Patch earned Bronze for its early-warning system in greenhouse tomatoes and other high-value crops, which detects stress before visible symptoms and helps prevent major crop losses. "Reaching growers with our product is a key challenge, and GAC gives us the chance to expand our global presence and connect with customers," said a team member.
"Events like this are extremely important because they allow young entrepreneurs to push beyond the limits of their thinking and broaden their capacity for innovation,” said Grace Wachori, a judge for the event, highlighting how GAC not only showcases innovative solutions but also fosters a global network for young entrepreneurs.
"GAC is creating a movement: young entrepreneurs from every corner of the world supporting each other, " said Vincent Martin, Director of the FAO Office of Innovation.
Among the nine finalists, the youngest project leader was 19 years old, with several participants born after the year of 2000. Hou Kaidi, Vice President of Pinduoduo, said: "These young innovators are redefining the future of agriculture with technology. We support this event because we see the boundless potential of young people to make agriculture smarter, more inclusive, and more sustainable."
Pinduoduo has co-hosted the event for five years, discovering and supporting more than 600 innovative agricultural solutions, providing platforms to scale projects, and advancing AI-driven agricultural research and youth talent through programs such as the Digital Agriculture Innovation Bootcamp. Hou Kaidi stated that over the next three years, through the Hundred Billion Support Program, “our company will continue to support global agricultural science and technology development and innovation, helping improve production and livelihoods in rural areas.”
（By Xu Jiawen）
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