HACK AgriFood’20, the exclusive international agri-food innovation hackathon

Submitted by Serena Rebollo… on 06 October 2020

For the first time in history, a 8-weeks online international hackathon HACK AgriFood'20 is being organized. HACK AgriFood'20 is aimed at helping the agriculture and food and packaging sectors to overcome ongoing problems and to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. After the hackathon, its participants will be able to sell their MVP stage targeted solutions to the challenge owners - AgriFood sector companies. Currently, different companies from all over Europe have already submitted nine challenges in four main categories: Local Food Supply Networks, Utilizing Production Side-Streams, Smart Food Packaging and Solving Last Mile Delivery.

When asked to express his opinion about HACK AgriFood'20 and its prospects, one of the pioneers in the European Digital Innovation Hubs ecosystem and internationally recognized agri-food expert, Grigoris Chatzikostas, said that COVID-19 tested the resilience of our food systems but it also accelerated the adoption of game-changing technologies. HACK AgriFood’20 is a co-creation space where startups, farmers and food and packaging producers can come up with practical solutions for tackling major challenges imposed by the pandemic. It gives the European ecosystem a push to move faster, without leaving anyone behind, in order to emerge stronger from the crisis.

HACK Agrifood’20 has already received support from both international and local communities. We are grateful to the entire SAFE SMART FOOD consortium for their significant contribution to HACK Agrifood’20, the Smart Food ClusterBusiness Upper AustriaFood Products Quality ClusterFoodservice Cluster of Catalonia and the Packaging Cluster. The partnership is based on individual and common competences, experiences and connecting fifth partners from four Europe Countries representing different regions with different level of development. The consortium as a whole is composed of a wide set of suitable partners that represent cluster organizations including sectoral food and packaging clusters which lead to a cross-fertilisation process and contribute to a wider spreading and diffusion of R&D results and innovation excellence, strengthening European leadership in industrial value chains and at the same time fostering regional economic convergence.

The hackathon is sponsored by many influential partners, such as COSME programme co-funded by the European Union, the SMART  AgriHubs consortium, which unites 164 partners all over Europe, the Lithuanian Science, Innovation and Technology Agency and others.

The team which is organizing this event have emphasized that the biggest advantages of this hackathon are the duration and the fact that teams will solve real challenges and will have to provide real solutions at the MVP stage. Packaging Cluster is also excited about the possibility of solving the challenge from Industrias Plásticas Triana, a member of the cluster, who is looking for creative ways of extending the life cycle of packaging after their primary use, so that consumers can repurpose and reuse packaging.

Registration of teams and individuals willing to participate in the international online hackathon HACK Agrifood’20 has already started and will end on October 11. Everybody willing to address the challenges proposed by AgriFood sector companies can register at www.hackagrifood.lt

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