A team of students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has won a continental artificial intelligence competition with a tool designed to help Ghana's cocoa farmers earn more from their harvest.
According to a report by YEN.com.gh, the team, called Husker AI, won the 2026 Pan-African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon, held at the AI Hub in Accra.
Husker AI is made up of three KNUST students, YEN.com.gh reports:
The mix of technical and business skills reflects the team's focus: building a product that not only works, but can also create real value for farmers.
Every cocoa harvest leaves behind large quantities of pod husks, which are usually left to rot on farms. Husker AI aims to turn that waste into income.
According to YEN.com.gh, the mobile platform lets cocoa farmers scan husks to get estimates of their quality and quantity, see a market value in Ghana cedis, and connect with buyers. The husks can then be processed into products such as animal feed, organic fertiliser and biochar.
The app is designed with Ghana's farmers in mind. It works offline, which matters in rural areas with weak internet coverage, and supports local languages including Twi, Ewe and Fante.
YEN.com.gh reports that the competition drew more than 200 applicants. These were narrowed down to 25 teams and then to five finalists before Husker AI was named the winner.
The team received a cash prize of US$1,000 along with startup mentorship. It is not the team's first success: YEN.com.gh reports that Husker AI was previously runner-up at the Ghana AI Innovation Challenge, where it received a Certificate of Commendation.
Ghana is one of the world's largest producers of cocoa, and the crop supports hundreds of thousands of farming households, mostly smallholders. Yet many cocoa farmers earn modest incomes and are vulnerable to price changes, disease and climate pressures.
Finding extra income from material that is currently wasted could make a real difference to farm households. Turning husks into feed and fertiliser could also support more sustainable farming, reducing waste and providing inputs that farmers or livestock keepers would otherwise have to buy.
For student teams like Husker AI, winning a competition is often just the start. The mentorship that comes with the prize can help the team refine the product, test it with farmers and look for partners such as cocoa buyers, farmer cooperatives or agricultural investors. Turning a prize-winning prototype into a business that reaches thousands of farmers will be the bigger challenge.
The Pan-African AI Summit brings together innovators, investors and policymakers interested in artificial intelligence across the continent. Earlier this year, the Ghanaian Times and the Daily Graphic reported that the Estonian Business Angels Network had joined the summit to support investment in Africa's emerging AI startups.
Husker AI's win adds to a series of strong showings by Ghanaian students in technology and innovation. KNUST in particular has been building its reputation in AI, including through its Responsible AI Lab, which has hosted a Pan-African conference on AI and smart systems.
Solutions built by African developers for African problems, especially in agriculture, are increasingly seen as one of the most promising uses of AI on the continent. Tools that work offline and in local languages can reach people that many global products leave out.
Talk Talk congratulates the Husker AI team and will follow their progress as they develop the product further.
