The Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) Rwanda, are organizing an international conference on ICT for Agriculture (ICT4Ag) in Kigali. The ICT4Ag conference will promote the application of ICTs in the Agricultural sector with particular emphasis on value chains, advocacy and policy development as posted on their website. There is going to be a regional hackathon on ICT4Ag solution as one of the activities that will run during the conference. This is a pilot experience and focuses only on East African hackers. All private and public sector who run innovation, entrepreneurship hubs/ communities in this region can express interest in being partners nominating and supporting teams to the finals of the regional competition. The Objectives of the Agri-hack Championship are to; showcase the potentials of ICT applications in Agriculture at the ICT4Ag conference and support the development of ICT innovations and entrepreneurship in Agriculture. To be a part of the National selection event, you can nominate your own team or another team that is developing an ICT app in Agriculture. The Agri- Hack Championship seeks to address the following challenges; Challenge 1: How can bi-directional information sharing and communication between farmers and extension workers be encouraged or improved? Key areas of interest include information sharing and advisory on soil fertility, fertilizers, weather information, pests, diseases, access to localized farming inputs, multimedia content and ability to verify counterfeit products. Challenge 2: Through ICT applications, how can access to financial services be made easier for farmers through a disruptive, innovative tool? Shortlisted products, teams will be invited to give a pitch of their product at the National Selection Contest to be hosted by Outbox on the evening of Monday 30th September. Call for Nominations Agri Apps CTA ICT4AG. Submit by Wednesday 25th September! by Patricia Kahill
