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By Special Correspondent, CMU

In demonstration of excellence in academics and innovation, a group of six students of the University of Dar es Salaam studying Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), led by one Ms. Flora Kagoma, has won the President Samia Suluhu Hassan competition on an innovative project to improve the agricultural sector in Tanzania.

Ms. Flora Kagoma, studying Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Engineering, UDSM College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT), and her group, emerged the first run-up in this competition organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and, together with other winners, were honoured at a national ceremony held recently in Dodoma.

Speaking about this achievement, UDSM Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor-Research, Prof. Nelson Boniface, commended the students who participated in this competition for a well-done innovative initiative and urged other students and members of staff to participate in similar competitions to demonstrate their useful innovation projects.

“Our researchers and students at the University of Dar es Salaam are doing various great research and innovation projects which are very useful and instrumental to the society and the nation at large. We encourage them to participate more in such activities like competitions and outreach programmes; and we commend the Ministry of Agriculture for these initiatives”, said Prof. Boniface.

According to Ms. Kagoma, their project which was submitted to respond to the Ministry’s call for youth participation in the competition to honour the contribution of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H. E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan in the agriculture sector was titled ‘AI-Enhanced Drone for Early Crop Disease Detection’ – a system that aims to help farmers detect crop diseases early before they spread throughout the entire farm.

“This system uses drone to collect real-time data and processes such data. It can then alert the farmer, through a mobile app, to the detected diseases and recommend actions to be taken accordingly”, said Ms. Kagoma.

Other members of the winning group led by Ms. Kagoma included Hassan Yange enrolled in the Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering programme; Naumu Siloma, Nohiyo Petro, Martin Malius and Thomson Mushi all studying Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering.