By Katie DeFiore
Many smallholder farmers in underresourced areas farm out of necessity to feed their families, often lacking access to information or knowledge about best practices. The challenges of a changing climate — such as crop stress, shorter growing seasons, declining soil fertility and reduced yields — have made farming even more difficult, leaving little room for error.
PlantVillage, a Penn State-based research lab, is working with smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and the Americas to adapt to these climate-related challenges.
Founded in 2012 by David Hughes, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Global Food Security and director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Innovation Lab on Current and Emerging Threats to Crops at the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, PlantVillage describes itself as a "land-grant university in a phone." The app, powered by artificial intelligence, enables sharing of vital agricultural knowledge to and among the people who need it most.
To guide its expansion and commercial efforts, PlantVillage participated in the Invent Penn State U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps regional short course, which helps researchers start on the path toward commercializing their innovations.
PlantVillage Operations Director Annalyse McCloskey, a fifth-generation Pennsylvania farmer and the operations director of the Penn State USAID Innovation Lab on Current and Emerging Threats to Crops, said the I-Corps program was instrumental in helping the team understand business practices.
“The I-Corps instructors approach business theory through a scientific lens, which makes it more accessible to researchers like me,” she explained.
McCloskey outlined how their team supports farmers through a hands-on, tailored approach. A regional field officer visits the farmer’s site to assess their practices, goals and financial situation, then evaluates specific needs like yield frequency and access to inputs such as seeds and fertilizers. The PlantVillage team then provides necessary resources and introduces the farmer to the PlantVillage app, a hub for tailored agricultural guidance.
Today, PlantVillage supports 15 million people each agricultural season across 65 countries, with over 200 staff members in the field. Recently, they’ve focused on biochar production, training farmers to convert agricultural waste into biochar, a carbon-rich material that sequesters carbon and offers an eco-friendly use for excess biomass.
To support this effort, PlantVillage developed the Biochar app, which connects farmers to the carbon credit market. Companies can offset emissions by purchasing credits from farmers, providing the financial resources farmers need to sustain biochar production.
This initiative, alongside PlantVillage’s app for agricultural inputs, is creating a for-profit venture called PlantVillage+. McCloskey said the NSF I-Corps regional short course has helped guide this expansion.
“The voluntary market is volatile, and there’s hesitation around purchasing carbon offsets,” McCloskey said. “Providing detailed, verifiable information — like photos of biochar production — builds trust and ensures quality.”
In spring 2024, the team progressed to the NSF I-Corps National Teams Program to scale their solutions and refine their approach. Andy Atkins, a mentor in residence through the Invent Penn State Startup Leadership Network, provided business support to PlantVillage throughout their participation in the national teams program.
“The national program confirmed that our tools are ready to support farmers and clients effectively,” McCloskey said. “We’ve had honest conversations with expert partners about software-as-a-service, customer retention and keeping farmers at the center of everything we do.”
PlantVillage is currently finalizing its split into two entities: the research-focused PlantVillage, which will concentrate on food security, and the for-profit PlantVillage+, which will handle farmers’ inputs, biochar production and other commercial ventures.
McCloskey recommended the I-Corps program to other researchers aiming to turn their work into real-world solutions.
“It’s a fantastic way to take research beyond published papers and create societal impact,” she said. “The program gives rapid, practical lessons on business tailored to researchers, making it easier to expand into unfamiliar fields.”
About NSF I-Corps
Penn State University is part of the NSF I-Corps Mid-Atlantic Hub, a network of universities, NSF-funded researchers, established entrepreneurs, local and regional entrepreneurial communities, and other federal agencies. Hubs work collaboratively to build and sustain a diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem throughout the United States.
Source : psu.edu