SeedSure: Enhancing seed storage reliability and germination assurance through smart technologies

Revolutionising seed storage and quality assurance in Ghana

Project Partners: CSIR-Crops Research Institute Kumasi-Ghana, Gyre Energy Limited, MMV Sense Limited and Smart Agri 

The goal of this project is to revolutionise seed storage and quality assurance in Ghana by integrating artificial intelligence for accurate monitoring of seed germination rates, alongside energy efficient cold storage technologies. It aims to address the critical challenge of maintaining optimal storage conditions to preserve seed quality, while also managing frequent energy outages and reducing the high carbon emissions typically associated with cold storage facilities.  

This UK-Brazil-Ghana collaboration will collaboratively deliver a solution that improves seed viability and a reliable storage facility for farmers, reduces energy costs and mitigates carbon emissions. Seed viability is essential for food security and agricultural productivity. However, manual germination testing is time-consuming, error-prone and reactive, often identifying seed quality issues only after significant deterioration. Simultaneously, traditional cold storage facilities in Ghana suffer from high energy costs, frequent power outages and unreliable and unsustainable reliance on diesel generators, which has led to poor seed germination rates, making seed preservation costly and unreliable. The project will deploy Phenosync Field system, a proven Brazilian developed AI-driven digital imaging technology, to automate and improve the accuracy of seed germination measuring. This innovation allows dynamic monitoring of seed germination quality over time, optimising storage parameters and ensuring timely interventions, reducing by 15x the necessity of labour. Concurrently, the consortium will install an AI-enabled thermal energy storage solution into a seed cold room. These systems provide reliable chilling during grid outages, can charge when there is an excess of energy (ie solar) and reduce energy costs by up to 40%. Field trials in Ghana will validate the technical and commercial feasibility of combining real-time germination monitoring with AI-optimised cold storage.  

The project will quantify improvements in germination rates, seed shelf life, energy use, operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It will also deliver hands-on training for Ghanaian scientists, technicians and seed companies to adopt the technology widely. By addressing critical inefficiencies in the seed supply chain, the project will enable better returns for seed companies, reduced dependency on seed imports, a higher productivity for farmers and greater resilience for Ghana’s food systems. The solution has strong global scalability potential, offering significant commercial opportunities for the consortium partners. 

For more information

For more information on this project, contact us, or view all projects funded under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership programme.

Innovate UK Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership: UK-Brazil-Africa brings together innovative people and organisations to promote climate-smart agriculture in Africa.