At a hackathon in the canton of Aargau last weekend, approximately 70 participants developed innovative prototypes and digital solutions aimed at solving challenges in relation to sustainable agriculture in Switzerland. During the Open Farming Hackdays at the Liebegg Agricultural Center, mixed teams of farmers, data analysts and students worked together with experts from the worlds of business, science and industry. They had formulated 18 possible topics in advance, from which a total of eleven were selected as focal points for the 32-hour hackathon.
According to a press release, the teams were tasked with developing solutions for an online marketplace for farm and recycling manure. Using blockchain technology, the aim was to efficiently connect consumers with farmers. In addition, the focus was on developing an early recognition system that detects diseases in dairy cows and therefore reduces the use of medication.
The teams’ proposals were showcased during the final presentation. All the issues worked on by the teams and the current status of the projects can be found on the website of Opendata.ch. Together with Liebegg Agricultural Center and the Aargau High Tech Center, Opendata.ch organizes the Open Farming Hackdays. The Cantonal Bank of Aargau (AKB) was the lead sponsor for this event.
According to Markus Dieth, president of the cantonal government, the results show that “exchanges focused on how the benefits offered by digitalization and modern technologies can be leveraged in agriculture is of great value not only for the canton of Aargau, but for all of Switzerland”.
