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PANEL 1: TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE SMART AGRICULTURE
Moderator
H.E.
Ambassador L.
Kone Tanou
ECOWAS Permanent Observer to the United Nations
SPEAKERS
1) Alexander Riggs-Miller – CEO,
Navigium
Background:
Mr. Riggs-Miller
and his team from Navigium, has developed a water desalinization
process which allows for the filtration of salt from seawater,
resulting in access to purified water at a fraction of the cost
of conventional methodologies. In addition, he is also
experienced in IT consulting, business management
and strategic operation. Alex had worked with fortune 100
companies like Citrix Systems, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Cisco,
Hewlett Packard, and Goldman Sachs.
Concept:
The world’s potable water requirements are
increasing and Navigium is creating desalinization plants that
cost and operate at 1/20th the cost of multistage plants. Its
systems are based on two proven technologies: multi-stage flash
(MSF) distillation and vacuum distillation. Combined, these can
convert 15% to 20% of the saltwater into potable water. Navigium
unique designs allow vast improvements over standard MSF and
vacuum distillation designs allowing it to create the necessary
heating energy and pressure requirements with much less energy
consumption. This allows Navigium to leverage solar and wind as
the energy source, creating a 100% renewable energy and
carbon-neutral system. The plant designs use standard parts and
components, which enable its modular systems with very few
moving parts and can be installed or maintained with basic
construction skillsets. This provides a modular self-sustaining
system that can be used for the potable or agricultural needs of
a region.
2) Timothy Dupler – CEO, QSorb3000
Background:
Mr. Dupler is a business executive,
specializing in the integration of nanotechnology, blockchain,
IOT, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data to develop solutions
for industries such as fintech, consumer electronics,
healthcare, and water treatment. Currently utilizing blockchain
with Nano IOT for supply chain traceability and to address
anti-counterfeit applications.
Concept:
This ion-based material has been proven to reduce
the need for water by 50% and fertilizer by 30% as it creates an
encapsulated polymer that shields the water from evaporation
allowing it to absorb into the plant, tree or vegetation.
Satellite images of a test bed in the Sahara shows 2 grow
projects with one taking available water without QSorb3000 and
one with. The one with QSorb3000 is green and healthy while the
other is dry and almost invisible from satellite. The polymer is
eroded with the evaporation so there is no soil degradation.
Additionally, just one treatment of QSorb3000 improves the soil
condition and fertilizer retention for 3 years or more.
3) Leo Lu – Executive Director, AD NANO
Background:
Mr.
Lu graduated
from Pepperdine University, California, in Computer Information
System and was also a PhD. Candidate in Computational Science.
He formerly worked with Fortune 500 companies like IBM and
Franklin Templeton. During the
UNOSSC/GSSD Expo – Private Sector of United
Nations, He was a speaker on blockchain for the green energy
market.
Concept:
Serves as the innovator and integrator of
agricucltural techniques of ecogreen soil catalyst, probiotics,
and smart iFarm technologies of wireless IoT intelligent
controller system and monitoring for rice production. Utilizing
twelve years of research and development, the company
contributes proprietary expertise on soil-enrichment, elevating
microbrial engagement, resulting in increased crop yield. The
enzyme-substrate complex is environmentally safe (non-toxic) and
can stimulate nitrogen as well as phosphorous through the KREB’s
cycle, leading to better retention of moisture which lessens the
dependency on water.
4) Ban Tran – CEO, Trans International Group (TIG)
Background:
Mr. Tran leads the
investment strategy for a Family Office / Private Equity holding
company, focusing in advanced materials, nanotechnology,
blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, and their various
applications to create social impact. During
UNOSSC/GSSD Expo – Private Sector of United Nations,
he was a speaker on the topic of leveraging
Blockchain and Technology for social impact and jobs creation.
Concept:
One
of the social impact solution TIG is working with is a
technology that converts waste to energy, which can be used to
make fuel, chemical, fertilizers and generate electricity. This
gasification technology is a universal system from the United
States that converts varied-source solid wastes (agricultural
waste, forestry waste, sewage sludge, industry waste,
construction & demolition waste, municipal solid waste, used
tire, used oil, etc.) into clean gaseous fuel irrespective of
waste origin, waste composition, waste size and waste density.
This technology will provide an environmentally safe alternative
to the current hazardous disposal method of burning agricultural
waste after harvest, in addition to generating electricity,
steam or hot water in the gasification process as an additional
energy source for the end users.
5)
Alice LeBlanc – Director, African Soil Initiative
Ms.
LeBlanc is an environmental economist with more than twenty-five
years experience focused on developing economically viable ways
to address the challenges of climate change and sustainable
development. Throughout her career, she has promoted climate
change solutions based on forestry, agriculture and energy
production in developing countries as well as in the U.S. Ms.
LeBlanc headed the Office of Environmental and Climate Change at
AIG, was the Senior Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund
and
SVP of Environmental Financial Product at the Chicago Climate
Exchange (CCX).
Biochar
production, a 2,000-year-old practice that converts agricultural
waste into a soil enhancer, involves heating biomass with little
or no oxygen to drive off volatile gasses, leaving Carbon
behind. Waste materials appropriate for biochar production
include crop residues (both field residues and processing
residues such as nut shells, fruit pits, and bagasse) and some
invasive species such as tifa and elephant grass, as well as
yard, food, and forestry wastes, and animal manures.
When used as a soil amendment, biochar alters the
property of the soil, enabling it to retain more water and
nutrients, attracting microbes and allowing plants to fix
atmospheric nitrogen more efficiently and attracting microbes,
improving plants growth. |
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PANEL 2: BLOCKCHAIN FOR AGRICULTURE
MODERATOR
H.E.
Ambassador Carlos Garcia, Ph.D., FEGSB
Secretary General
Ambassador of El Salvador to the United Nations
SPEAKERS
Keith
Agoada – CEO, Producers Market
Background:
Mr. Agoada has worked in the supply side of the
agricultural industry for the past decade. He is the founder of
the commercial urban agriculture firm, Sky Vegetables, which
pioneered the integration of greenhouse hydroponic agriculture
in urban environments. After being acquired of the majority
ownership, Keith consulted in the initial development stage for
the leading organic agriculture real estate developer, Simply
Natural. Prior to his work with Producers Market, Keith spent
the last four years in international procurement development
roles for UNFI, Global Organics, Veg Fresh Farms and other
leading organic brands in the United States.
Concept:
Pioneering the digitization of the agricultural
value chain. The company is building a B2B marketplace
application connecting agricultural producers directly with
buyers globally to generate greater efficiencies and moving the
contracts, transactions and traceability onto a digital format.
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are key tools to
this present and future digitization. The validation of data and
information in a distributed, P2P ecosystem holds incredible
opportunities in agriculture globally to reduce economic costs,
food safety risk, and waste while empowering farmers, consumers
and value chain businesses with greater transparency and
profitability. Blockchain holds the potential to unlock a
sustainable future in which the values and desires of
end-consumers are aligned to ecological, social and economic
responsibility.
Alexander
Riggs-Miller – CEO, Navigium
Background:
Mr. Riggs-Miller
and his team from Navigium, has developed a water desalinization
process which allows for the filtration of salt from seawater,
resulting in access to purified water at a fraction of the cost
of conventional methodologies. In addition, he is also
experienced in IT consulting, business management
and strategic operation. Alex had worked with fortune 100
companies like Citrix Systems, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Cisco,
Hewlett Packard, and Goldman Sachs.
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