Permia Sensing wins UAE FoodTech Challenge with Sri Lanka-tested tech
EconomyNext: Permia Sensing, an agriculture company using AI technology and specializing in palm trees, with a team in Sri Lanka, was named a winner of the UAE FoodTech Challenge 2026 at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Permia Sensing is an agriculture company using AI, bioacoustic sensing and aerial image to protect and increase yields in coconut, oil palm and dates.
The organisers highlighted Permia’s use of AI, bioacoustic sensors and drone imaging to monitor tree health, and noted deployment at scale in Sri Lanka.
“At Permia, we focus on sensing that works in the real world, at scale, in harsh environments, with messy data and imperfect connectivity,” said Dr Hasitha Wegiriya, CTO and Co-founder of Permia Sensing.
Each of the four winning companies receives US$ 500,000 as part of a US$ 2 million prize package, and support to pilot and scale solutions in the UAE and across priority markets in the Global South.
“The prize helps us move faster on implementation, more field trials, faster iteration, stronger on-the-ground support, and partnerships that turn insights into action.
“The goal is straightforward, make food production more resilient, more efficient, and ultimately more affordable, without pretending one size fits all.”
Permia has operational teams on the ground in Sri Lanka and two of the company’s co-founders are Sri Lankan.
The company said its work in Sri Lanka has helped transform local research and field experience into practical, exportable technology designed for the realities of the Global South.
“Across the Global South, farming systems are under real pressure from climate volatility, water constraints, and fragile supply chains.”
The company covers around 10,000 hectares of coconut and oil palm plantations in the island.
Its operations in Sri Lanka create jobs across agronomy, field operations, drone and sensor deployment, data annotation, machine learning, the company said, helping build a modern agricultural technology workforce locally.
Permia is expanding internationally, with planned growth across India, West Asia, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.
OSL take:
The achievement recorded by Permia Sensing using technology from Sri Lanka indicates the growing knowledge base in the country, especially in the backdrop of the country becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, the strong trade ties with many foreign countries and the growing business conducive environment in the country, have all placed the country as an emerging business/investment destination in the region. Apart from the many business/investment opportunities presented by the country’s expanding economy, Sri Lanka also presents the ideal destination for foreign businesses to set up bases to engage with other countries in the region. The availability of knowledgeable individuals as well as human resources that could support operations and the availability of affordable infrastructure facilities in a resilient economy that is on a growth trajectory, all add to Sri Lanka’s increasing appeal among foreign businesses/investors. They could also look at entering the country or even expanding operations in the country through partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260120/Z_4 |