AgriMinds Hackathon · 30 October 2026
Build solutions for real agricultural challenges.
Choose one problem, understand the people affected, and develop a practical concept, prototype, or minimum viable product.
Register for the HackathonProblem statements
Eleven opportunities to innovate, integrate, and create impact.
The challenges span the journey from seed and soil to farm operations, food processing, and market access.
Track 1
Pre-Production
01Seed quality check before sowing
Read the full problem brief
Context
Farmers often save seed from a previous harvest or buy local seed without a quick, trusted way to check whether it will germinate well.
What is the real problem?
A poor germination rate is discovered only after sowing. Re-sowing costs seed, labour, water, and time, while a laboratory test may be too expensive, slow, or far away.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A farmer buys local seed, sows the whole field, and later sees that only half the plants emerge. What could help the farmer test a small sample before risking the entire field?
02Soil data that farmers can act on
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Context
Soil test reports contain useful measurements, but farmers may receive numbers without a simple explanation of what to change in the next crop cycle.
What is the real problem?
The gap is converting soil data into an affordable, crop-specific decision about fertiliser, sowing, irrigation, or soil improvement.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A farmer receives a soil report but still follows last season's fertiliser routine because the report does not explain the next action. How would you turn the report into a decision?
Track 2
Production
01Right-time pest and disease action
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Context
Pest and disease pressure changes with crop stage, weather, field conditions, and local spread. Farmers often act after visible damage appears.
What is the real problem?
Farmers need trustworthy advice on whether to act, when to act, what method to use, and the right dose—without unnecessary spraying or delayed intervention.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A farmer notices a few damaged leaves and waits. Within a week the pest spreads, or the farmer sprays too early and spends unnecessarily. How could the farmer know when action is justified?
02Technology-enabled weed management
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Context
Weeds emerge unevenly, compete with crops from an early stage, and can be difficult to distinguish from the crop without careful observation.
What is the real problem?
Farmers need an affordable way to detect weeds early and choose manual, mechanical, biological, or chemical control without increasing crop damage or environmental harm.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A farmer sees weeds in only a few parts of the field. By the time the plot is overgrown, manual weeding is expensive and blanket herbicide could damage the crop. How could a phone, sensor, drone, or affordable machine help?
03Labour at peak farm operations
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Context
Weeding, transplanting, and harvesting are time-sensitive operations. Many farms need extra workers during the same short periods.
What is the real problem?
Workers are difficult to find at the right time, and informal arrangements provide limited visibility into availability, skills, location, and fair rates.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A farmer's crop is ready for harvesting, but the usual workers are committed elsewhere. How could the farmer find reliable help or an affordable alternative in time?
04Early warning in small dairy and poultry units
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Context
Small dairy and poultry units may not have sensors, veterinarians, or regular monitoring systems. Problems become visible through illness, heat stress, or reduced output.
What is the real problem?
The challenge is to detect small changes early enough for an owner to take practical action before the loss becomes severe.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A poultry owner notices birds are drinking more and moving less, but the signs do not yet look serious. What low-cost warning system could prompt action earlier?
Track 3
Post-Harvest
01Independent grading at the point of sale
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Context
Farmers may rely on a buyer's grading decision even though the grade directly affects the price they receive.
What is the real problem?
Farmers need a quick, understandable, and independent way to check quality at the collection or sale point.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A buyer says a tomato lot is lower grade because of size and damage, but the farmer cannot verify the assessment. What could make the quality check visible and trustworthy?
02Tracking losses in the first leg of the chain
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Context
Small lots travel from scattered farms through collection points before reaching a market or processor. Delays, heat, handling, and poor packaging can reduce value.
What is the real problem?
The chain often records final quantity or price but not where quality and value were lost, making it difficult to fix the highest-impact step.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
Produce from several villages reaches a processor partly spoiled, but nobody knows whether the loss happened during waiting, loading, transport, or storage. How would you locate the loss?
03Consistent quality in micro food processing
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Context
Small food-processing units often depend on manual judgement instead of measured process steps, records, and repeatable quality checks.
What is the real problem?
A product can vary between batches in taste, safety, moisture, shelf life, or packaging, making it harder to build trust and grow.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A women-led unit makes millet snacks, but one batch is crisp and another is soft because cooking time and moisture are judged by eye. What simple system could make every batch consistent?
Track 4
Marketing
01Compliant labels for small food brands
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Context
Micro processors need labels that communicate product information and meet applicable requirements, but designing and updating labels can be difficult and costly.
What is the real problem?
The challenge is to make nutrition, allergens, ingredients, dates, batch details, and other required information easier to prepare correctly for small production runs.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
A small pickle brand changes its recipe, but the label still has old ingredients and date fields. How could compliant labels be created and checked simply?
02Viable direct delivery to city buyers
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Context
Small producers may receive scattered orders from urban households. Delivery costs, distance, timing, and low order density can consume the margin.
What is the real problem?
Direct selling only works when ordering, aggregation, routing, payment, packaging, and repeat demand are coordinated well enough to beat the middleman route.
Illustration: a real-world scenario
Ten households in different parts of a city order small quantities from one farmer group. What would make direct delivery financially viable?
AgriMinds AgriTech Summit 2026