KNUST students win Pan African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon with cocoa waste solution

A student-led team from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has emerged as the winner of the 2026 Pan African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon with an artificial intelligence-powered solution designed to help cocoa farmers turn discarded cocoa pod husks into an additional source of income.

From cocoa pod husks traditionally treated as waste to a potential source of economic value, Husker AI is seeking to demonstrate how locally developed AI solutions can address practical challenges within Ghana’s agricultural value chain.

Among its priorities are expanding its local image dataset with cocoa pod husk samples from farming communities, improving the AI models, piloting the platform with farmers and cooperatives, engaging agricultural extension officers and strengthening relationships with potential buyers.