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 they will inherit all its gifts and ills.

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.

Hack4Food is brought to you by the Rotary Club of Makati (RCM), in collaboration with Rotary Club of Bay, Rotaract Club of Makati, and the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP).

Challenges

Improving the lives of farmers/fisherfolks through enhanced economies of scale (i.e., reduced production costs, increased yields, decreased cost per unit of output);
Empowering farmers through collective action and by aggregating their outputs into viable clusters that improve operations and profits;
Enhancing farmer profits through direct matching of producer and buyer; and reducing the participation of middlemen to the lowest possible level without adversely affecting the supply chain;
Supporting and encouraging farmers to engage in crop diversification, which has been proven to help fertilize the soil;
Implementing digital technologies and data analytics which enhance overall farm productivity and efficiency;
Creating object detection technologies which can aid in production and/or distribution decisions;
Designing value chains that take into account climate change and other sources of risks;
Developing forecasting models and tools that guide decision-making in value chains;