TWO Ghanaian innovators have emerged as winners in a regional Clean Agricultural Technology competition aimed at boosting productivity, cutting post-harvest losses and promoting green entrepreneurship.

Wobil Technologies, led by Erica A. Appiah and Charity Abena Azogmi, took the first position with a grain winnower designed to efficiently clean rice, soya beans, maize and other grains, while Villian Star Limited, represented by William Mikado and Gifty Samani, placed first runner-up with a cassava peeling and washing machine that reduces drudgery and improves processing efficiency.

In Senegal, Moussa Ndoye Company took first place with a peanut thresher and sheller, while Ady M. Niass Company placed second.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Lynays Company won first prize for a solar-powered smart irrigation system, with AD Solar taking second place for solar dryers for vegetables.

Each participating country received a total of US$37,000 in grants, with winners receiving US$25,000 and first runners-up awarded US$17,000.

The awards were presented at the End-of-Project Workshop of the Innovating for Clean Agricultural Technologies (INFoCAT) initiative, a two-year project implemented in Ghana, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.

Speaking at the event in Accra yesterday, Professor Fatima Denton, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and Principal Investigator of INFoCAT, said Ghana’s development was entering a decisive transition phase requiring economic transformation, food security and climate action to advance together.

She described INFoCAT as a timely intervention aligned with Ghana’s vision of building a green, resilient and inclusive economy.

According to Prof. Denton, the project supports renewable energy development, green job creation for women and youth, and climate-resilient agriculture.

She said clean energy-powered technologies introduced under INFoCAT had the potential to reduce post-harvest losses, improve food availability and quality, raise farmer incomes and contribute to Ghana’s low-carbon development goals.

Prof. Denton also highlighted the project’s focus on promoting women- and youth-led enterprises, fostering green entrepreneurship and building skills linked to market opportunities.

Dr Ferdinando Tornyie, Research Fellow at UNU-INRA and Project Coordinator for the three countries, said agriculture in the sub-region continued to face challenges including low mechanisation, heavy reliance on manual labour and strenuous working conditions, particularly for women.

He stressed the need for clean energy-powered agritech solutions to modernise the sector and expand energy access, noting that energy use in Ghanaian agriculture remained largely dependent on fossil fuels and biomass.