The Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have selected Innoterra for a collaboration to develop digital, quality-control tools for the early detection of defects in banana. The partnership is part of the project called Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant, being rolled out by BASE and EMPA in India.

The method uses machine learning algorithms to detect defects in bananas before they are sold in the market. These algorithms will later be integrated into an app, which can be downloaded onto a farmer’s mobile phone. The early detection of defects will allow farmers to optimise their fruit care, storage, and logistics processes. It will also lead to the more effective usage of agri inputs, better quality fruit and reduce wastage along the supply chain, an Innoterra press release said.

The partnership will combine the tech capabilities of BASE and EMPA and build on Innoterra’s farming knowhow to strengthen its full-stack platform offering to smallholder farmers in India and other developing markets.

Anup Karwa, Head of Operations India, Nutrition Division at Innoterra, said, “We are combining modern technologies with Innoterra’s expertise in banana cultivation and a tech-enabled end-to-end platform India is the world’s largest producer of bananas, yet struggles with inferior quality and high wastage throughout its supply chain. Technology-enabled improvements in pre- and post-harvest processes will make Indian banana farmers more competitive, reduce food wastage, allow for better price realisation and increase farmer income.”

Thijs Defraeye, Group Leader SimBioSys said: “Teaming up with Innoterra is essential for us to implement, test and optimise the machine learning models we are developing. Working closely with them helps us to complete the innovation pipeline.”

Thomas Motmans, Team Lead and Senior Sustainable Energy Finance Specialist, BASE  said: “We are glad that the solutions we are developing are being adopted by Innoterra. This partnership will reduce post-harvest losses for smallholders by strengthening agricultural cold chains with business model innovation and digitalisation.”

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