TEEVYAH YUVA RAJU
UNITED STATES, 18
Project: AgCure
Basic Human Needs: Food, Water
In 2014 one of the world’s largest agricultural providers was undergoing a severe drought – California, USA. Teevyah discovered that farmers were losing billions of dollars to outsource water and prevent crop loss, which directly increased food prices worldwide. In response to this information, she researched and discovered a serious flaw in the system that farmers were using to classify their soils. She created AgCure to help farmers save water, money and their crops, with the goal of improving food security worldwide. AgCure is a computational system that uses calculations and basic information about soil types to advise farmers about the amount of specific compounds to apply to their crops. Utilizing this information, farmers can strengthen their soil and prevent disease. Teevyah’s innovation has won multiple national and international awards, and is currently used by food organizations globally. After successfully programming AgCure, Teevyah was eager to inspire other girls to take on STEM projects. She hosts STEM workshops, organizes events featuring women leaders as speakers and provides equipment to schools to teach programming. To date, she has helped 1,000+ girls around the world foster their interest in STEM. For her efforts in both agriculture and STEM, Teevyah has been named the National Girl Innovator and ISEF Special Award Winner in 2016, the Girl Who Inspires Award Winner and ISEF Grand Award Winner in 2017, and the NCWIT National Award Winner in 2018. Teevyah hopes to bridge the gap between technology and agriculture, because she believes countries flourish when everyone is nourished.