Innovation Showcase for Agricultural Research-to-Market Programme

The Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) at Michigan State University in partnership with the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) at the Royal University of Agriculture has launched an agricultural research-to-market program designed to engage the private and public sector within the agricultural research system and to identify potential private/public partnership opportunities to translate research to market-ready products for Cambodia. The Innovation Showcase will highlight the value of supporting scientists with the training and resources needed to promote marketable technologies that contribute to agricultural innovation for social impact.

The program has awarded four projects through the competitive process. All the project winners were trained on various topics including the design thinking concepts, communicating science, the arts of pitching a project, and developing networks and partnership building.

They all receive some business coaching to equip the agricultural researchers and scientists to get ready to interact with the key stakeholders of the ecosystem and introduce their prototypes produced from the research projects funded by BHEARD.

During the event on the 12th May, the four researcher-led projects will present their innovative products:

• iGreenSynergy: Safe plant spraying product to tackle pests, diseases and nutrition
• PhallChangrit (PCr.) innovates the cricket value chain, from the production of low-cost cricket feed to the production of highly nutritive cricket-based products.
• Veggi-Transplanter: Manufacturing of easy-to-use equipment/ products that help farmers to optimize vegetable farming
• LM-Drone: Large Scale Crop Health Monitoring by Unnamed Aerial Vehicle (Drone)