Two proudly Marian startup teams from Saint Mary’s University were declared provincial awardees in the Young Farmers’ Challenge 2025 – Start-Up Category held on November 21, 2025 at Robinsons Place Tuguegarao. Both teams earned recognition for their innovative agribusiness concepts and each secured a ₱80,000 start-up grant to further develop and scale their solutions.

Representing the School of Accountancy and Business, Team Banana Crafts (Non-Food Processing) is composed of Rhejelyn Indopia, John Shamel Dulay, Raynabel Baguio, Jica Lachaona, and Angel Kezia Butay. Their venture focuses on reinventing banana leaves as sustainable packaging material, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional single-use packaging while creating additional value for banana-growing communities.

From the School of Engineering, Architecture, and Information Technology, Team Gingerly.ai (Digital Agriculture) – composed of Rocel Audrey Batara, Muhammad Al-Batesh, and Jasfer Dela Cruz – is developing an AI-powered disease detection tool for ginger crops. By helping farmers identify plant diseases early and respond with appropriate interventions, Gingerly.ai aims to reduce losses, improve yield quality, and make precision agriculture more accessible to smallholder ginger farmers.