Press and News Post-Harvest Loss Solutions Hackathon: Climate-Smart, Gender-Responsive Solutions in Eastern and Southern Africa

In the heart of Eastern and Southern Africa, where agricultural abundance meets persistent challenges, a pioneering hackathon took place on the 8-9th of November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. The event aimed to address urgent issues faced by smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, emphasizing the preservation, and maximizing the value of harvested crops and livestock. The hackathon brought together a diverse group of participants, including farmers, the development sector, researchers, and policymakers. The event facilitated the exchange of ideas, expertise, and creative solutions. As the hackathon unfolded, key learnings included transformational levers of change in data, digital technology and finance, rules of design, thinking, and problem framing when it comes to business, paving the way for future activities.  

The primary objective of this hackathon was to explore innovations and solution refinement at the intersection of climate, gender, and post-harvest loss in agribusiness. The pressing challenges faced by smallholder farmers, including inadequate storage facilities, poor transportation infrastructure, limited access to markets, and insufficient knowledge of proper post-harvest handling techniques, served as the backdrop for this innovative initiative. 

Despite the region's agricultural richness, post-harvest losses pose a significant threat to food security, economic growth, and sustainable development. These losses impact farmers’ livelihoods and contribute to food insecurity, economic inefficiencies, and environmental degradation. The need for sustainable and scalable solutions to mitigate these losses formed the core motivation for the hackathon.  

Pitching of innovative ideas to combat post-harvest losses by hackers took center stage on the second day of the hackathon. Before the pitching competition, the hackers were taken through the art of pitching, solution refinement and pitch deck development. They identified areas of vulnerability within strategic value chains like cereals, horticulture and dairy within Kenya. Their proposals gave a glimpse into a future where technology plays a pivotal role in minimizing post-harvest losses and ensuring food security on a global scale. The winner, 1st runner up and 2nd Runner Up were awarded a sum of $(5,000, 3000 and 2000) respectively.