Pinduoduo, one of China’s leading agriculture platforms, has partnered with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Zhejiang University to facilitate youth-led innovations and promote digital inclusion in agriculture
The second ‘Global Agrilnno Challenge', co-organised by the FAO and Zhejiang University with support from the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of agriculture and rural affairs of China and Pinduoduo, attracted nearly 160 teams from over 40 countries. The competition aims at harnessing innovation, entrepreneurship and digital technologies to accelerate rural digital transformation and close the rural-urban digital divide in a holistic and sustainable manner.
Grow For Me (GFM), a Ghana-based micro-financing provider in rural areas, took first place in the competition while EPTeck Technologies, an Internet of Things (IoT) based smart farming solution provider from Germany was placed second. A team from China, Point Grass into Gold, won third place for their innovative and sustainable idea of recycling cotton stalks.
Khalid Bomba, chief innovation officer, FAO said, “Youth-led innovative solutions and business models can play a critical role to unlock the potential of digitalisation to end hunger and poverty. It is crucial that we encourage young people to contribute to the future of agriculture and include them in key decision-making processes as much as possible.”
Pinduoduo said that it has supported the 'Global Agrilnno Challenge' since its inception, as the competition’s aim of promoting young agri-entrepreneurs is in line with its goal of extending the benefits of digital agriculture to more people.
Pindoduo initiated the ‘Smart Agriculture Competition’, an annual precision farming contest, to bring together young talent from different disciplines to develop technology for smallholder farmers. With 80% of team members in the competition finals in their 20s, the competition is emerging as a leading showcase for young agricultural talent in China. The FAO and Zhejiang University are also partners in this competition.
In August 2021, Pinduoduo announced a “10 Billion Agriculture Initiative” that aims to address critical needs for the agriculture and rural sectors. The Initiative strives to facilitate the advancement of agricultural technology, promote digital inclusion and provide agritech talents and workers with greater motivation and a sense of achievement.
Andre Zhu, senior vice-president at Pinduoduo, “Agriculture is an industry with great potential for young people considering a future in technology and who aspire to make an impact on society. We are happy to leverage our resources to provide more opportunities for young agricultural talent across the world.”
