IO Tree is a startup with an ambitious goal of helping out millions of farmers in the region to get rid of the med fruit fly. The company intends to do so by building a machine that monitors the presence of the med fruit fly and alert farmers when the time is ripe to spray pesticides.
The efforts of the company bagged widespread appreciation in the recently held Agrytech Hackathon. So much so that IO Tree also won the first prize owing to its innovative offering that could help farmers across the region yield better crops at higher volume.
The Agrytech Hackathon was organized by Berytech, an organization overseeing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lebanon, under the patronage of the President of the Council of Ministers, H.E. Mr. Saad Hariri. The event also had the backing of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The top performers at the event now qualify to be a part of the Agrytech program and will receive financial aid of up to $100,000 in support and grants.
Speaking of the growing relevance of the Agrytech program, Chairman, and CEO of Berytech, Maroun N. Chammas, said, “We are very excited to organize these events under the Agrytech program, proving that Lebanon can play a role in solving world challenges in the agri-food sectors.”
Chammas also appreciated the support from the Netherlands Embassy by saying,“Thanks to them, we are now working on building a regional and international network through our partnership with StartLife and FoodValley, which ultimately benefits our participating startups.”.
The Agrytech program shortlisted 80 candidates from around 160 applicants. The shortlisted candidates were divided into 26 teams that included developers, data scientists, engineers, innovators, designers, university students, and professionals who fiercely competed with one another for three consecutive days to turn innovative ideas into product prototypes under the guidance of experts representing FarmHack.Nl, Source Institute, and other Dutch consultants.
