Solution with potential to solve irrigation challenges

Scroll through any social media site, especially TikTok, you will be met with all sorts of challenges – youth dancing to trends.

Its challenges all through but some youth such as Cynthia Karen Mugumya, have deployed that energy to code irrigation solutions and create an alternative for farmers beyond rain-fed farming.

Together with her project partner Emmanuel Otim, they have spent the past year designing an irrigation system that fuses mechanical, electrical engineering, and coding. 

Their brainchild, FarmFlow, has also been recognised, clinching the national title at the World Robot Olympiad in November, hosted at the Innovation Village in Kampala, from which, they also secured funding from Google and IrishAid.

14 schools participated in the competition and when we met at Kampala Diplomatic International School, Mugumya showed us why they were able to easily win.

“Robotics was introduced to the school earlier this year,” she says, recalling how Mr Victor Paul Kawagga, the school’s robotics teacher, “showcased it during assembly, to which she thought, “this looks cool”.

The curiosity quickly grew into something much bigger, with Mugumya seeking to “solve real problems for real people”.

Building FarmFlow

A brainstorm of her robotics idea with her teacher to tackle drought in agriculture built FarmFlow, which Otim joined before they set off to the farm for a test.

However, while testing they discovered that the wheels were struggling to power through rough terrain.

So, they revamped it with the help of their robotics teacher - upgraded the gear system, swapped out the four wheels, and it worked eventually.

The duo combined their love for coding and engineering to build a robot that can automatically water crops.

“We used Arduino IDE to code it in C++,” Mugumya says, noting that it is powered using a laptop, which controls everything, with letters assigned for directions.

“We are working on a mobile app. No farmer wants to carry a laptop into the field. With the app, they will have everything they need at their fingertips,” she says.

FarmFlow, however, faces real-world hurdles - affordability for small-scale farmers and the tech learning curve.

Otim is the hardware wizard, who believes in the power of physics to make things tick, while Mugumya is the coding maestro, something that culminates from her knwledge of mathematics, a subject she is good at.

“Physics and coding come alive when we are building. It’s not just theory anymore—it’s real,” Otim says

Uganda’s agriculture relies heavily on seasonal rainfall, which is becoming increasingly erratic due to climate change.

Data from the Agriculture Ministry shows that 43 percent of the country’s farmland faces dryness, and existing irrigation solutions are often too expensive or impractical for the average farmer.

Thus, FarmFlow is simple yet revolutionary, relying on three key sensors; moisture, temperature, and ultrasonic, which have been integrated into a smart irrigation system that keeps the soils hydrated. 

Moisture sensors check the soil, while temperature sensors guard against evaporation. The ultrasonic sensor acts as the system's 'eyes,' navigating obstacles smoothly.

From curiosity to innovation

Mugumya’s innovation - FarmFlow - hit close to home because “my parents are farmers”.

However, FarmFlow is just part of what she is doing. Lately, she has been researching menstrual health challenges for women in space because “radiation affects their cycles, and I want to explore solutions [for] big problems”.

And for Otim, who is now 19 years old, he is building a new dream - a system that could keep motorbikes upright during accidents.

These are big dreams for the two, but offer loads of hope for the future of Uganda’s tech space.

Talent development

Kawagga understands what it takes to nurture talent in such a complex field - one that even adults often struggle to master.

Since diving into robotics in 2012, Kawagga has developed a clear approach to spotting potential by focusing on what impact can innovations offer.

Innovation, he says, especially in the robotics ecosystem, is a collective efforts and it is rare for a single student to excel alone.

“When there is a project, I assign roles: someone good at math for coding, another with a physics edge for circuits and design, and a team leader to bring it all together. Sometimes, it takes five students. But when you align their strengths, the results are magical,” Kawagga, a self-taught mechatronics engineer and innovator, who also built a remote temperature-checking robot during Covid-19 using old printers and plywood, says.

Equipment challenges

However, he says, Uganda’s tech ecosystem lacks equipment yet robotics need tools, hardware, and specialised environments, which are hard to find.”

Mechatronics - the blend of software, coding, mechanics, and electricity - is at the forefront of solving global problems. But in Uganda, a lack of equipment stifles innovation.

Many innovators echo this sentiment, saying access to hardware is a major challenge in Uganda, yet when universities collaborate with local innovators, often provide equipment only for the specific project and once it is over, the hardware disappears.

Kawagga has seen this first-hand. After working with various local universities, he has been left with equipment that is no longer available for future innovators, yet the shortage extends beyond innovators to lecturers in fields like engineering, robotics, and coding.

The gaps in deep tech are glaring, particularly in mechatronics, and funding isn’t much help either.

Financing hurdles

A recent Partech report shows Ugandan tech start-ups continue to struggle with funding. In 2023, they secured $10m across nine deals, ranking 18th in Africa - down eight places from 2022, when 15 deals brought in $48m 

This challenge trickles down to schools that impart deep tech skills to students and experts like Kawagga are compensated per term, based on student enrolment due to affordability issues that remain a barrier.

“This year, we only have four students in robotics, though 12 are capable and interested,” says Phillip Nyeko, the KDS director. “Four dropped out because parents couldn’t manage the Shs250,000 per term fee, which covers equipment, software, logistics, and teacher compensation.”

However, Kawagga says schools are trying to teach hands-on skills needed for complex technologies, which is critical in a country where theory-heavy education leaves even engineering graduates struggling with practical problem-solving.

“We need to bridge the gap between theory-heavy engineering students and those with practical skills, like Kisekka mechanics,” he suggests, arguing that internships pairing these groups could foster collaboration and create well-rounded professionals before students even graduate.

“Mechatronics disturbs a lot,” he says. “It’s capital-intensive, and equipment breaks easily, which can ruin an entire project. Replacing it is expensive. This field needs incentives—some cash support.”

It’s a sector-wide issue that policymakers need to address if Uganda is to truly nurture its tech ecosystem.

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