They took on the challenge
Season 1
Each year, the Make IT Agri Challenge celebrates innovative student projects dedicated to more sustainable agriculture and food systems. On this page, explore the finalists and winning teams from previous editions: ambitious ideas, concrete solutions, and passionate talent. Plenty to inspire you and maybe spark your own desire to join the adventure!
There’s a cleaner, cheaper alternative to pesticides: sexual confusion, which uses pheromones to disrupt insect reproduction. Pherodrone has developed a system that releases bio-pheromone diffusers directly from the sky, using drones! A technical challenge, but one with huge potential for sustainable pest control.
HexaPode is a smart camera able to detect and identify insects in crop fields, helping farmers manage pests in a more targeted way. The goal: replace broad-spectrum preventive pesticide treatments with solutions that spare biodiversity, thanks to a precise diagnosis of insects present in the field.
The use of pastures by cattle herds provides strong environmental benefits. But with the increasing frequency of extreme climate events, farmers must adapt their grazing practices. GOpasture is a connected tool that helps manage grazing by integrating climate conditions that affect animal welfare and measuring forage resources. It even pilots a smart mobile shelter to optimize the use of pastures more evenly.
Methanization turns organic waste into renewable energy: biogas. But many biogas units struggle to find suitable feedstock outside their farms, while local authorities face challenges in disposing of green and agri-food waste. Métha’récolte is an app that organizes collection circuits for methanizable bio-waste, like dead leaves and food scraps, connecting biogas plant owners with local communities.
RedFal aims to protect honeybees from the invasive Asian hornet, a predator whose spread has been dramatic, nearly 100 km per year since first appearing in France in 2004. With its diet made up of 80% bees, this species already causes the loss of 200,000 bees per season, in a context where national honey production has dropped by two-thirds. RedFal detects hornets near hives and neutralizes them using targeted light pulses. The name stands for Recherche et Destruction des Frelons Asiatiques par Laser. An ecological solution, designed for apiaries and in compliance with safety standards.
AReMo is a technological innovation project supporting sustainable agriculture. Its goal is to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by promoting individualized treatments and automating weeding in vegetable farming operations.
Plain’Up seeks to transform rural and farm access roads into environmental assets. The idea: turn them into biodiversity hubs, carbon sinks, and even water collectors. The project consists of building a collaborative platform where stakeholders can upload photos of these roads, helping identify key zones and take action. The platform would also model the roads, monitor their condition over time, and track biodiversity in these new habitats.
Bees play a vital role in ecosystems. One of their biggest threats is the varroa parasite, which can wipe out entire colonies. The disappearance of bees would be catastrophic for humanity. Varroameter is working on a technical solution to rid bees of this deadly parasite and help safeguard their survival.
From student projects to real businesses, these teams show how Make IT Agri can be a springboard for turning innovation into concrete impact.