AGRYTECH HACKATHON

DECEMBER 03-18, 2020 · ONLINE

Innovate in the agri-food sector and use technology to tackle real-life challenges in Farming, Food Industry- Packaging & Marketing, Rangelands & Forestry, Fishing & Aquaculture, Management Support – Learning & Extension, guided by industry experts, with access to Berytech’s hardware prototyping fabrication lab. 

ABOUT THE
HACKATHON

The Agrytech Hackathon is organized online by Berytech in partnership and with the full and unwavering support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Lebanon. 

This e-hackathon is an exciting opportunity to develop innovative solutions to real-life challenges using technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in the agri-food sector.

Throughout the e-hackathon, participants will receive the assistance of technical, industry and business experts, and will have access to the tools and hardware prototyping facilities at the  Berytech Fab Lab

The winners of the e-Hackathon will win valuable prizes and get the chance to be enrolled in Berytech’s Agrytech Accelerator Program

DAY 1- DAY 3

Pre-Hackathon

Get all the information you need regarding the process, discover real challenges, identify the main problem and sketch different solutions.

DEC 3- DEC 5

DAY 3- DAY 8

validation

Go on the field and validate your idea, pitch your solution based on the field assessment and get the chance to be selected among the 20 teams that will continue.

DEC 5- DEC 10

DAY 9- DAY 13

hackathon

Get all the information you need to turn your idea into a valid business solution, develop your prototype, and get the support of experts.

DEC 11- DEC 16

DAY 14-DAY 15

post-Hackathon

Pitch your solution to the jury, receive expert feedback, and win valuable prizes

DEC 17- DEC 18

1st PRIZE

$ 4,500

+ Access to the Agrytech Accelerator Program  

* $2,500 prize + $2,000 cash grant during the first phase of the Agrytech Accelerator Program 

2nd PRIZE

$ 3,500

+ Access to the Agrytech Accelerator Program  

* $1,500 prize + $2,000 cash grant during the first phase of the Agrytech Accelerator Program 

3rd PRIZE

$ 1,000

* $1,000 prize 

WHO CAN APPLY

You are encouraged to apply if you are an engineer, scientist, maker, creative, innovator, entrepreneur or a young professional who has an innovative solution or runs an early-stage agri-food startup that falls under the pre-set agri-food challenges (see below). 

Your solution – an idea or within an early-stage startup, needs to fall under the agri-food sector, solve one of the pre-set challenges and should include a tech component (Software, hardware, IOT). 

You can apply with your own idea as long as it falls under one of the pre-set challenges. Your solution should include an innovative process, product or service with the capacity to increase economical value and create job opportunities in Lebanon, solving one of the pre-set challenges below.

To participate you need to be a team of at least 3 people, preferably including one technical person. If you don’t have a team, no worries, you can still register, join the first phase of the hackathon, and find a team.  

The online hackathon is open for teams residing in Lebanon only.  

The process

  • Register before December 2 – Teams should register in one submission. 
  • Join the Slack channel where all communication will happen
  • Attend phase 1 and 2 of the Agrytech Hackathon
  • Submit your updated application before December 9 (Application link will be shared during phase 1 of the hackathon) – this will be the last day to finalize, form your team and submit your final solution
  • Pitch your solution on Day 7 to get the chance to be selected among the 20 teams that will continue
  • Attend phase 3 of the Agrytech Hackathon and develop your prototype and business model
  • Pitch on Day 14 to get the chance to be selected among the top 3 

THE 15-DAY
SCHEDULE

During phase 1, you will get all the information needed regarding the process of the e-hackathon, discover real challenges facing the agri-food sector, receive the guidance needed to identify the main problem and sketch different solutions, and will have the chance to validate their assumptions to better understand their customer. 

DAY 1  Thursday, December 3 – Introduction and Challenges Presentation 

Get all the information you need for the e-hackathon and discover the real challenges facing the agri-food sector. 

Sessions will be conducted from 5:00pm-8:00pm

DAY 2 Friday, December 4 – Problem Identification  

Get all the information and guidance you need to identify the main problem you are tackling and sketch different solutions. 

Sessions will be conducted from 6:00pm- 9:30pm

DAY 3 Saturday, December 5 – Customer Discovery 

Get all the information you need to validate your assumptions and better understand your customer. 

Sessions will be conducted from 9:30am-12:30pm

During phase 2, you will have to go on the field to validate your idea. By the end of day 7, you will have to submit your final application based on your findings. Day 7 is also the day where all teams are formed.  

DAY 3- DAY 7 Saturday, December 5 – Wednesday, December 9, 2020 Validation Days  

Validate your idea by going on the field, develop a field assessment and pivot your idea if needed. By the end of Day 7, you will have to submit your final idea, and final team members.

No sessions planned. However, you will have to go on the field and interview people to validate your solution.

DAY 8 Thursday December 10 – Selection of Teams  

Pitch your solution to an internal jury, stressing on the field assessment to get the chance to be selected among the 20 teams to continue in the Agrytech Hackathon. 

Sessions will be conducted from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Selected teams will be announced then. 

20 teams will be selected to continue with phase 3. During this phase, you will receive all the information needed to turn your idea into a valid business solution, and build your prototype. You will have to use the time outside the sessions to build your innovative agri-food hardware or software solution.

Day 9 Friday, December 11 – Business Workshops 

Get all the information you need to turn your idea into a valid business solution. 

Sessions from 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Day 10 Saturday, December 12 – Technical Workshops 

Get all the information and guidance you need to build your prototype, whether it is hardware or software. 

Sessions from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

Day 11 Monday, December 14 – Clinics and Hacking 

Develop your innovative agri-food hardware or software solution and get the support of experts.  

Session time: 3:00pm to 7:00pm

Day 12 Tuesday, December 15 – Pitching Workshop 

Get all the information you need to finalize your pitch deck. 

Session time: 3:30pm to 5:30pm

Day 13 Wednesday, December 16 – Pitching Clinics 

Last expert feedback before the selection!  

Session time: 3:00pm to 7:00pm

Finally, you will have to pitch your solution and present the demo to the jury to get the chance to be selected among the 8 finalists. 

DAY 14Thursday, December 17 – Pre-selection 

Pitch your solution and present your demo to the jury, to get the chance to be selected among the 8 finalists. 

Sessions from 5:00pm to 7:30pm.

DAY 15 Friday, December 18 – Final Jury 

Pitch your solution to the jury, receive expert feedback and win valuable prizes. 

Session from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Use your hacking time wisely to build a demo that showcases your product’s most important features. You will need to present your creative and hard work through (1) a prototype or demo of a prototype, and (2) a 3-minute pitch to present your solution to the specific challenge in a sustainable business model.

Idea Validation

  • Clearly addresses the challenges
  • Clear Value Proposition

Customer Segment

  • Demonstrates clear customer understanding and empathy, and targets a specific pain, or problem for them.

Innovation

  • The idea, device, or method is innovative and solves the pre-set challenges

Sustainability

  • The business model is feasible and can generate revenue
  • The solution is scalable across markets 

Prototype

  • The product or service demo clearly exhibits the functionality.

Team

  • Team member backgrounds are clear, fitting with the roles and responsibilities needed to take the idea forward.

The challenges identified by experts should inspire our Lebanese entrepreneurs and startups to innovate in the agri-food sector

DISCOVER THE CHALLENGES

Berytech have been working with experts as well as the public and private sectors to identify a list of challenges in the agri-food value chain. These challenges should inspire you to innovate in the sector. Make sure to take into consideration challenges, come up with an innovative solution, build your team, and apply now to the e-Hackathon.

    TRACK 1

    Farming

    Crop, land and productivity optimization to fight food insecurity

    Food Security is a pressing issue in Lebanon and the MENA region, influenced by land availability and climate change. The country only produces 10-15% of its wheat requirements. Land use is a challenge, as there aren’t large areas of arable lands coupled with limited planning. But even if all arable lands were cultivated with wheat, there would still be a shortage in matching the demand. Meanwhile, farmers are oriented towards cash crops like potatoes or vegetables especially if they have enough irrigation water, so they are not motivated to grow wheat.
    Finding alternative crops, optimizing land use and improving productivity in agriculture is much needed to ensure food security

    What is needed

    Use technology to improve the management of land use and contribute to food security by identifying alternative crops that could be grown in different Lebanese regions

    Challenger: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas – ICARDA

    Data: Available Research

    Use greywater solutions and technologies in different business models to solve the water pollution issue by recycling industrial water

    Water pollution is a serious problem in Lebanon specifically in the Litani water basin, due to the waste from factories, homes and agriculture production caused by the extra use of nitrates.
    There are technologies available for different water treatments, including greywater. It is a simple system that treats water from home basins to be then used for home garden irrigation. Can we create an incentive to install it through a creative business model? Or recycle the water of industries and complete the cycle? 

    What is needed

    Develop a business model to finance and promote such solutions

    Challenger: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas – ICARDA

    Data: Available Research

    Optimization of legume supply chain in Lebanon

    Chickpeas are an important raw material for the food industry, used in the making of Hummus that is consumed worldwide. In Lebanon, chickpeas are imported from the US at 70 cents/kg (before the current crisis) and processed by industries into Hummus that is then exported to world markets. Locally grown chickpeas are more costly and used to be at least 2-3 $/kg. The difference is large and for most industries, it is cheaper to just import as the price and volume are more optimal. Now that the economic crisis has affected import prices, all are turning into import substitution. However, land size continues to be a challenge. A cost-effective production of chickpeas or other pulses while producing enough volume for industries is needed. Hydroponics can be used for legumes as an alternative to smaller land size, but how cost-effective is it? The yield is low in hydroponics, 1.5-2 tons/ha while in an open field, can reach 8-10 tons/ha.

    What is needed

    Create a business model that pushes economy of scale and contract farming to promote the growing of all kind of legumes and provide better market conditions especially with the recent change of manpower cost in Lebanon.

    Challenger: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas – ICARDA

    Data: Available Research

    Improving visibility for small producers to understand their markets, competition, needs and prices and forecast their supply to implement economy of scale and optimize their costs

    Organizations working in the agricultural field, deal with different clusters of farmer cooperatives. Collecting supply from the farmers to the packing-house is a challenge by itself as the volume of supply is not clear in advance.
    In addition, one main challenge for cooperatives themselves, is the lack of access to alternative markets: limited diversification and selling space, as well as limited relationships with key actors along the value chain. These cooperatives have no access to market research studies nor the knowledge to carry out themselves, so markets become oversaturated with generic “mouneh” products.
    And when the work needs coordination between different cooperatives, they need to plan the supply ahead of time and forecast quantities needed to produce to have consistency in supply in fair trade markets which is not present
    And finally, cooperatives have not been able to scale up in terms of quantities due to the increasing cost of raw material and difficulty to find affordable sources

    What is needed

    Create a solution or business model that helps cooperatives organize their work, supply chain, forecast and demand and reach new markets

    Challenger:Jean Paul II Foundation, World Food Program – WFP, Oikos Institute Lebanon

    Data: Available Research

    Lack of availability, accessibility and cost visibility for post-harvest packing and conditioning units in remote areas

    Small and medium farmers are usually unable to take care of their produce post-harvest. By the time the produce reaches the market or the exporter’s warehouse, they lose a big part of their shelf life. This point is key for export and to maintain a good quality product. The lack of adequate packaging, conditioning and transportation facilities for the farmers and the high cost of creating one for each small farm is limiting the farmer’s ability to ensure the quality needed for export.
    In addition, some post-harvest centers exist but are very distant from agricultural fields. It is also usually the norm that olive farmers harvest and send their produce to the nearby mills to press the olives for the oil. Most farmers do not sort the olives to separate from the twigs and leaves which give a bitter taste for the oil. Additionally, the mills often get overbooked so olives are left there until the turn comes for them. This affects the quality of the oil, specially that the olives are not stored in any specific conditions. There is a need for closer link between the mills and the farmers to organize the pressing operations and have higher quality oil.

    What is needed

    Use technology and hardware to solve the issue of availability for post-harvesting centers.

    Challenger: RMF Focus Groups

    Olive and olive oil value chain optimization.

    CELIM is an Italian organization that is currently implementing a project in Hasbaya & Marjeyoun region to help farmers improve olive oil production, find markets for the oil locally or internationally, and help on transforming waste to organic fertilizers. They are trying to introduce new techniques in agriculture, and helping farmers to improve the land management. The main challenge in these two abovementioned regions is the topography: Mountainous lands with terraces, which makes plowing even more difficult and hinders the use of tractors.

    Quality of the yield is mostly determined by the pest application, spraying techniques and harvest time. Usually, farmers are encouraged to harvest when 20-30% of the fruit turns red to black. Some farmers in Lebanon harvest in November, some even in December, just by experience, rather than based on any scientific method.

    What is needed

    Hardware/software that can help the Lebanese farmers optimize their agricultural practices (plowing, harvest, harvest time …)

    Challenger: CELIM/ LebRelief

    Animal tagging system and traceability improvement.

    The Ministry of Agriculture has tagging systems for animals, mainly for registration and traceability purposes. However, farmers sometimes do not register new borne animals, and thus no tagging or traceability is maintained. Additionally, with the current crisis, the tagging system is need of upgrading, which is beyond the Ministry’s financial capabilities.

    What is needed

    A simpler system for tagging that can include sensors for new borne to include in the traceability, and one where information can be updated regularly

    Challenger: OIE

    Challenger: RMF Focus Groups

    Heat Detection devices for cattle

    Cattle farming productivity is highly depending on artificial breeding. And artificial breeding cannot be successful without an accurate and immediate detection of heat. This is done usually by observation in Lebanon. But observation is only done during day hours. And every heat missed costs the farmer 1 month of non-production and waiting. Some devices are usually imported to detect heat and they all rely on mounting activities detection.

    What is needed

    Hardware that can solve the issue of heat detection and help farmers optimize their breeding plan

    Challenger: USJ-ESIAM

    Improvement of small ruminants practices and pasture for better productivity

    The small ruminants farming sector is still underdeveloped. The practices are still very traditional. Shepherds needs to count sheep’s or goats to verify the numbers, no tagging system, no diseases primary detection, no scientific breeding, no register for new born animal, no vaccine schedule… which is affecting the productivity and the cost of the product, being it milk or meat. In addition, the sales channel of these products is still limited to networks and not developed to a well structured marketing approach. 

    On another note, pasture consumed by small ruminants affect the milk productivity. changing the plants types or finding a better places can increase the production of milk of small ruminants. Can technology help in designing smart solution for small ruminants management and productivity?

    What is needed

    Use hardware and software to improve the management of small ruminants and their production yield

    TRACK 2

    Food Industry Packaging & Marketing

    Better differentiation for food products and improving shelf life through packaging innovation

    The challenge among food industries is finding innovative ways of packaging and presenting products. With a low barrier to entry in the market, anyone can develop a product and sell it in supermarkets, with little differentiation in packaging. All jams in glass or all grains in bags, or all liquids in bottles that all look alike with little differentiation, besides the label.
    Additionally, the majority of the packaging material is imported, and in standard shapes and sizes. . There is a need to look for different raw materials to create innovative packaging that can last longer, be more presentable, and preserve the freshness and taste.

    What is needed

    Use technology to develop new and different packaging materials beyond carton or glass.

    Challenger: USAID Funded Community Support Program

    Improved understanding of consumer needs and behavior and change in market dynamics

    Understanding the consumer and knowing who you are selling to is the key to successful marketing and business management. More often producers are good engineers, good in production management but not marketing.
    When it comes to market studies, a lot of ready-made expensive market research is available. Companies may do also their own market research. In such cases, this would provide general quantitative information on the market, the market shares of competitors, and the size of the market.
    The challenge is to have a better understanding of the consumer behaviour: Who are these consumers? What are they like? Are they coming back and purchasing the product or is it just a one-time thing?
    To drive better sales, make marketing activities more efficient and reduce food waste, companies need to establish a better relationship with consumers and understand their needs and behaviors.

    What is needed

    Use technology to help food processors establish a relationship with their consumers and make it more sustainable.

    Challenger: USAID Funded Community Support Program

    Secure food safety by maintaining the cold chain for different product categories while optimizing routing

    All food companies have their own fleet. They go to market with their full portfolio. Many of these companies have products that should be stored at different temperatures (room temperature and chilled or chilled and frozen…). Maintaining the right temperature of the product with the right humidity is more than important to secure food safety but also to reduce waste and extending the shelf life.
    At the same time, companies always try to maximize the efficiency of their distribution fleet even if that means to mix products in on truck.

    What is needed

    Create an integrated solution between hardware and software specially designed for food industries to minimize the food waste due to cold chain rupture or inadequacy.

    Lack of automation in quality monitoring and analysis systems

    The majority of Food safety and quality systems, in the agricultural and food industries are still documented manually. All records are done and registered on paper. That semi-automated implies a loss of time, because it required manual recording of data, than electronical reporting. Plus, it not only overuses paper, it delays the reporting and reaction speed at managerial and decision making level which can higher the risk of product non-conformity and food waste.

    What is needed

    Create an integrated solution for the registration, follow up, analysis and reporting quality and certification systems.

    Lack of automation in quality monitoring and analysis systems

    Flour mills in Lebanon used to rely on foreign labor taskforce to load huge trucks with flour bags. A truck can take up to 20 tons of flour if the bags are stacked. After the currency devaluation, foreign labor became unsatisfied with the income and is leaving the country. This is causing an issue for flour mills. And if they adopt pallets stacking method in order to use forklifts, they reduce the trucks capacity to half.

    What is needed

    Use robotic solutions to help in solving the issue of truck loading for large sensitive products?

    Challenger: Crown Flour Mills

    TRACK 3

    Rangeland & Forestry

    Prevention of forest deterioration caused by fires and pest invasion

    Fires and pest invasion are the major risks facing Lebanese forests. There is a need to have proper prevention mechanisms put in place as one type of pest can negatively impact the whole forest, including trees and shrubs. There are early warning systems for forestry utilized abroad but the scale is by far larger than that of Lebanon.

    What is needed

    Develop an early warning system for Lebanese forests that is more simplified and adapted for Lebanon, namely for detecting pests attacking pine trees.

    Challenger: Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    Identification of forest need in water to optimize temporary solutions

    Drip irrigation is used in forests and sometimes in farrow irrigation as well. Some sites are difficult to reach and irrigate. In South Lebanon, rainfall is low and there is a need to irrigate more intensively in the first 2 years. However, drip irrigation in such cases is expensive, especially if it’s just required for 2 years. Some use small potteries that are cut in half and placed next to tree/plant that allows for the slow release of water which is not a sustainable solution

    What is needed

    Use satellite imaging or other technologies to help in identifying and detecting water needs for the forest trees in Lebanon.

    Challenger: Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    TRACK 4

    Fishing & Aquaculture

    Creation of a solution enabling fishermen to locate new and safe fishing locations that fit their available safety equipment

    The fishing sector faces many challenges due to the scale of activities and the traditional nature that prevails in the sector.
    There are around 17,000 fishermen and only 3000 licensed fishing boats in Lebanon. Most of the fishing vessels are small and traditional with basic equipment on board. The main problem is the over-capture of fish on the coast. Boats are not well equipped with security tools to allow further dwelling in the sea, so the fishermen end up catching small fish and depleting the sea of further resources. All are fishing within the same space, not more than 3-5 km, while by law they can go as deep as 20 km, on the condition of having all security measures onboard. This is costly and unaffordable.
    Alternatively, they are unable, with their current small fishing boats, to locate different fishing sources with no GPS or any equipment that can help them. Can mobile phones be utilized to address this challenge? Scanning or using specific applications simple enough for fishermen to use and at the same time reduce over-capture?

    What is needed

    Use technology to develop a solution that helps fishermen find out where to fish, when to fish, and the type of fish to capture.

    Challenger: Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    TRACK 5

    Management Support: Learning & Extension

    Creation of a solution that enables extension in agriculture without relying on physical presence 

    Covid-19 has enforced a new way of life and continues to do so, a change that systems around the world are trying to cope with and adapt. Online learning and training have become a new way of education, but its impact is yet to be determined.
    In agriculture, the extension is an important activity usually carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and other international and local non-governmental organizations. It’s a mix of one-on-one coaching, group training for capacity building, consultations, among others. But this cannot be undertaken amidst Covid-19 due to risks of virus spread. How can the extension be supported? Most of the farmers do not have access to online libraries or learning, and some do not have smart mobile phones. So how can we reach out to all farmers and link them to this new system of extension? How can NGOs use such tools to provide support to the farmers and other actors in the agriculture sector as well?

    What is needed

    Develop a solution where farmers can contact extension agents beyond the phone calls and get effective advice.

    Challenger:Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    Optimization of the voucher schemes process used for farmers support from selection and generation to monitoring and reconciliation

    Vouchers are used worldwide for all purposes, be it promotional for FMCG, private sector, or relief support or through the distribution of food or cash amounts. In Lebanon, the voucher concept has been widely used, namely in food distribution to vulnerable groups, such as the E-card used by WFP or recently the distribution of input supplies by FAO. FAO has developed guidance notes for building a voucher scheme, including farmer selection, supplier selection, grievance mechanisms, and post-distribution monitoring.
    Any voucher scheme needs a process including a transaction. Currently, the farmers are given a checkbook with 10 vouchers. Each checkbook has the name of the farmer and each voucher has a barcode: 20 barcodes, 1000 farmers, and all this is done manually, thus very time-consuming.
    Some farmers can purchase 30 items with 20 barcodes or 1 product with 20 barcodes. There are 20,000 barcodes but only 3000-4000 transactions. Can such a process be done electronically, paying suppliers while farmers are aware of the transactions and how much they have remained in case they want to buy more?
    The second part of the process is the monitoring: what is remaining in terms of amounts, vouchers, products, and then post-monitoring is carried out. Again, all of this is done manually. Can technology help to have an inclusive voucher management scheme that governs the whole process of voucher production, distribution, reconciliation, and post-distribution monitoring? This can be then used by all other organizations that utilize voucher schemes in their activities, locally or abroad.

    What is needed

    Develop a solution where voucher schemes can be automated and efficient in terms of post-distribution monitoring.

    Challenger: Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    Improving the outreach of organizations supporting the Lebanese population in terms of food security (or any kind of support)

    There are a lot of ongoing food security initiatives, given the severity of the economic crisis and its impact on the different vulnerable communities in Lebanon. More often, reports are published by local or international organizations on the activities implemented in that aspect, number of beneficiaries, and other non-beneficiaries reached out to. However, there are no further details on the beneficiaries and more often duplication occurs. There is a need for a simple agile platform that can include more interactive information on the beneficiaries, without impacting confidentiality and the sensitivity of the beneficiary’s privacy. Can technology be used to make this process more efficient – a platform combining all such organizations as well as beneficiaries to increase impact and decrease unfairness.

    What is needed

    Develop a solution where data can be used to avoid the overlap of relief actions and support more targeted relief.

    Challenger:Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    Design of a solution to improve the practical distant learning for agricultural technical schools

    The Agriculture Technical Schools have been undergoing significant improvements, with support from international organizations and donors, to be more equipped and more labor market-driven for the sector. The curricula have been upgraded and schools refurbished.
    However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, physical learning is a challenge, and even more so when applied courses have to be administered. How can Agriculture schools adapt to such change and what technology can be used to have more simplified e-learning, as well as monitoring, applied courses in the field?

    What is needed

    Create tools and solutions to be used by technical schools for field and online learning.

    Challenger: Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO

    Solve the issue of cashflow for farmers

    Farmers were used to a get their inputs from suppliers on credit. They sold their products to wholesalers in advance to use this money to cover their expenses.
    After the economic crisis, their whole cashflow cycle was disrupted due to the obligation of paying cash.
    Can experts create a disruptive financial model and business model that can help the farmers in surviving this phase and keep growing their business?

    What is needed

    Creating a disruptive financing and credit model to solve the cashflow issue in the agricultural sector.

    Improve connections between farmers and service providers

    Most of the farmers, specifically in Akkar, are isolated and have little visibility of knowledge to be able to connect to various markets. They often incur losses as they do not have access to markets, but even worse, they do not have enough information on the service providers such as those providing pruning services, tillage, etc…

    What is needed

    An application to help connect people based on geographic location and help to utilize more efficiently the services and eventually the market.

    Challenger: LebRelief

    Solve the financial modeling gap in small businesses

    Today and due to the economic crisis, farmers and small food processors are finding hard time to decide on how to optimize their SKUs in a way to maximize their profit or even minimize the loss. While the packaging cost is becoming a burden on the total product cost (since all packaging materials are imported)

    What is needed

    Create a smart solution to help financially unskilled people in finding the best financial model to cope with market change

    Increase awareness on animal health and diseases

    There is very little awareness from the farmers/herders on animal health. More often they are unaware or do not know the symptoms, do not observe enough to call the VET and provide the proper vaccine. Thus there is need for more effective diseases prevention and treatment. Extension and awareness on animal health in Lebanon is most often neglected and overlooked. There is a need to increase awareness on importance of animal health also for Lebanese consumers, to be aware of what the are buying and what diseases could be transmitted to humans as well.

    What is needed

    A technology, in form of app or other, to help farmers detect symptoms and get in touch with VET doctors to provide proper treatment in time so as to prevent mortality and thus economic losses.

    Challenger: OIE

    Applications are closed

    LAST YEAR'S NUMBERS

    By organizing these events under the Agrytech Program, we are proving that Lebanon can play a role in solving world challenges in the agri-food sectors. 

      0
      applicants
      0
      selected participants
      0
      teams formed
      0
      final pitches
      0 +
      international and local mentors and experts
      0
      winners
      0
      industry challenges
      0
      teams admitted to the Agrytech Accelerator Batch 3
      0
      incubated startups

      Want to take your agri-food idea or startup a step further?

      Apply to the Agrytech Accelerator Program to get the chance to receive $100,000 in funding and support to develop your  agri-food startup and scale it to success within one year!

      Applications are Closed

      FAQ

      The event will be held online. You will receive all the needed information after you register to the hackathon.

      You can submit your application and join the slack workspace, build a team, work on the pre-set challenges to be able get the chance to be selected for phase 3.

      For preset teams, we recommend between 3 to 4 team members with various skills.  You can also add members to your team once you join the Slack channel.

      You  will need to work on the pre-set challenges stated in the previous section and come up with an innovative solution accordingly or join a team working on one of the pre-set challenges.

      You will have plenty of free time to hack, you just need to make sure to have at least one team member attend the online workshops and be ready for check-in.

      THE SDGS

      As a member of the Global Compact Network Lebanon, Berytech enacts the 10 principles of the UNGC and the Agrytech program falls under Berytech’s mission to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

        Sustainable Development Goals

        The eHackathon is organized by Berytech under the Agrytech program, co-funded by the Kingdom of The Netherlands and Berytech under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub Initiative. 

        The eHackathon is organized is partnership with:

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