Low rainfall and rising temperatures in Peki and surrounding communities are leaving many farmlands dry and increasingly difficult to cultivate, especially during the dry season.

It is against this backdrop that a team of students at the Peki Blengo Evangelical Presby Junior High, one of the beneficiary schools participating in the Telecel DigiTech Academy, set out to build a prototype solution to help tackle the problem.

Ruth Martey, together with her teammates who received 12-week practical training in robotics, presented a solution, a ‘smart farm’, at the recent graduation ceremony for cohort three of the academy in the South Dayi district of the Volta Region.

“As a group, we wanted to solve a problem our communities are experiencing every day, and farming is one of the main jobs of our parents. Farmers in this region struggle with water, especially during the dry season,” Ruth said, as she kicked off her team’s live showcase of the smart farm at the ceremony.

The smart farm combines an automated irrigation setup with the ability to draw water from underground sources or, potentially, nearby rivers and lakes. When the moisture level of the farmland drops, the irrigation system is automatically triggered to water the crops to the requisite soil moisture level.

It also includes a night light feature intended to brighten farms at night and help deter animals that damage crops in the dark.

Evans Owusu, a local farmer of 25 years' experience in mixed cropping of cassava, plantain and cocoa, said the students’ focus on irrigation reflects the reality of erratic rainfall, which has made farming more difficult.

“When the rains delay, it affects everything. If a smart water system prototype can be developed into a real product and used widely, it could help increase our production and income,” said Mr Owusu, who also doubled as the chair of the school’s Parent and Teacher Association, after the project showcase to educators, community leaders and parents.

The smart farm was one of several capstone innovations showcased by about 500 students from five regions who completed the Telecel DigiTech Academy, a three-month after-school training programme focused on robotics, coding and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Students from 19 schools across Ghana participated, building solutions ranging from fire and theft security alarm systems, e-commerce apps, to rain detectors and agricultural tools.

“The Telecel DigiTech Academy has increased the level of critical thinking and problem-solving among our students who took part in it.

"This is the kind of learning that prepares students for the future,” said Vincent Adzagbenu, headteacher of Peki Blengo EP JHS, one of the oldest schools in Ghana, founded in 1848 by missionaries of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

The DigiTech Academy, implemented with training support from the Mingo Foundation and Asustem Robotics, and in partnership with the Ghana Education Service and the National STEM Centre, is designed to complement classroom teaching with practical skills.

Students learn Scratch programming, Arduino-based robotics and basic web design, then apply those skills to community-based challenges.

Projects like the smart farm remain early-stage prototypes, requiring further technical development, funding and testing before they can be deployed at scale.

“What Telecel Foundation seeks to achieve with DigiTech Academy is to equip young people with the digital skills to build tangible solutions to real needs. We want them to become changemakers in their communities, while also exposing them to future careers in STEM,” said Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Foundation, Sustainability and External Communications at Telecel Ghana.

The programme places a strong emphasis on gender inclusion, with girls making up about 70 per cent of participants nationally.

Additionally, local teachers in the beneficiary schools are trained to sustain the impact beyond individual cohorts.

Since its launch in 2024, the Telecel DigiTech Academy has trained more than 2,300 students across 13 regions, with plans to expand nationally in future cohorts.