MAKATI, Philippines – The Rotary Club of Makati (RCM), in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Bay, Rotaract Club of Makati, and the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP) is inviting the Filipino youth to an online hackathon that will address challenges in agriculture. Hack4Food: Agriculture and Food Innovation Challenge 2022 aims to foster creativity and collaboration in solving the challenges facing agriculture and food systems. The agriculture and food value chain — from production to distribution, and up to consumption– can substantially gain from clever imagination and novel thinking.
The Philippines is home to an estimated 111 million people spread across its 7,641 islands. Ensuring food sustainability and inclusivity for its growing population is serious business. Achieving the desired state of agriculture will require a lot of work from both the public and private sectors. The youth of our country have a substantial stake in propelling the developmental progress of agriculture as it is they who will inherit its gifts, as well as its ills.
“The hackathon challenges the youth to use their creative talent to design value chain systems, develop forecasting models, engage farmers in crop diversification, and empower them by improving overall efficiency and productivity, upgrade operations, and increase profit,” said Atty. Luis Angel “Louie” G. Aseoche, RCM president.
“It is great to see a practical event to put analytics into action used to solve real-world problems,” said Colin Christie, president of AAP.
“The road to agricultural progress is long and hard. But with Hack4Food, we can be part of the solution sooner than later,” said Jose Ramon “Bom” V. Villatuya, treasurer of RCM and AAP.
This one-week virtual hackathon challenges the youth to step-up and make a positive impact in agriculture and food challenges. It is open to all stakeholders passionate about the fate of the planet and its inhabitants and committed to make a difference. Different kinds of solutions are welcome like business or value chain models, technology apps, digital farming apps, analytical farming tools (analytics/data science), and innovative farming methodology.
Cash prizes are at stake for the winners: ₱50,000, ₱30,000 and ₱20,000 for the first, second and third placers, respectively.
Participants are encouraged to form groups of 2-5 members or join as individuals. Filipino citizens within the Philippines are eligible to participate and the hackathon has no age limit. Criteria for judging for this hackathon include overall impact, feasibility, presentation, creativity and innovativeness, and environmental sustainability.
Register now and learn about the contest mechanics at hack4food.co. Deadline is on Saturday, February 26th, 2022 at 11:59 PM.
Hack4Food is under the Vocational Service agenda of Rotary International which promotes the use of skills to serve the community and to help young people achieve their career goals.