Multimedia University of Kenya (MMU) first-year student has emerged among top innovators at the just concluded Science, Technology, Research and Innovation (STRI4Society) Week 2026 exhibitions held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
Robert Mwatua, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology student, won the award under the Youth, STEM and Innovation Culture category for his innovation dubbed FarmGuard, an AI-powered agricultural intelligence platform designed to help farmers identify plant diseases, pests and recommend mitigation measures through image recognition technology.
The application contains a database that enables users to upload or scan images of crops for instant identification of diseases and pests, while also providing farming guidance, weather updates and market insights.
Speaking after receiving the award during the closing ceremony on Friday, May 22, 2026, presided over by Prime Cabinet Secretary Hon. Musalia Mudavadi and Principal Secretary, State Department for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Mwatua expressed gratitude to the university for providing a platform for young innovators to showcase their ideas.
“I’m really grateful to the university for providing a platform where we presented and pitched our projects to various interested stakeholders,” he said.
The 19-year-old innovator noted that the project was designed to address real challenges facing rural farmers by supporting offline access, shared-device usage, SMS and USSD integration, as well as community-based agricultural networking.
Mwatua said he is looking forward to improving the application further by adding more features and incorporating local languages to enhance accessibility among farmers.
“I’m looking forward to adding more features, including local language support such as Kikuyu and other languages so that more farmers can easily access the application,” he said.
He also encouraged fellow students to participate in hackathons, capture-the-flag competitions and other technology-related events, urging them to confidently showcase innovations that can help solve societal challenges.
“I would like to encourage my fellow students to participate in such events and showcase their projects whenever they feel they can help in a certain field,” he added.
Apart from the students, MMU staff and communication practitioner Mr. Nicanor Ndiege also made a poster presentation on Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Photojournalism Practice in Kenya after a competitive selection process.
On his part, MMU Director of Research and Innovation Dr. David Wekesa congratulated Mwatua and other student innovators who represented the university at STRI Week.
Dr. Wekesa encouraged the students to continue pursuing innovative solutions, noting that the Directorate of Research and Innovation would continue supporting industry-led innovations and student-driven research initiatives.
