Youth Urged To Develop Apps That Solve Agricultural Problems

State Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson, has challenged the country’s youth to use their skills and imagination to develop applications (apps) that will solve the country’s agricultural problems.

These, problems, he said, relate to food security, praedial larceny, linking buyers to suppliers, drought, and addressing the high food importation bill.

“We spend about US$4 billion on food imports in the region and certainly, Jamaica spends at least US$1 billion of that amount. It’s important that we find ways of reducing that importation bill and to improve our own production locally,” he stated.

Mr. Robinson was speaking on Tuesday, July 22, at the opening of the two-day stakeholders planning meeting of the AgriHack Talents Programme at the Knutsford Court hotel in New Kingston.

AgriHack is a regional initiative, being spearheaded by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), aimed at supporting youth innovations in information communication technology (ICT) and agricultural entrepreneurship.

Mr. Robinson, in endorsing the initiative, said it is expected to significantly impact the development of agriculture in the region, as it not only promotes youth participation in the sector, but also encourages the use of ICT to solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges.

He said that agriculture continues to be a vital component of the economy, accounting for some five to eight per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Agriculture is one of the very few sectors that have actually recorded some growth over the last number of years. In fact, agriculture has recorded the highest growth of all industries in Jamaica,” he noted.

The Minister stated that the Government of Jamaica is committed to facilitating the initiative.

“Programme Coordinator, CTA, Ken Lohento, explained that AgriHack encompasses a series of activities at the heart of which is a regional ‘hackathon’ or coding championship, followed by entrepreneurship support in ICT and agriculture, and the promotion of the products developed by the best young talents.

Hackathon is an event during which computer programmers collaborate intensively to develop an ICT application or platform to address a specific challenge.

Such events are increasingly being organised to address specific developmental issues and the CTA is aiming to boost its use in agriculture, he said.

Mr. Lohento said the CTA aims to involve other major stakeholders in the process to build on existing initiatives in order to ensure that the applications that are designed will respond to actual agricultural issues and that roll-out is favoured.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of digital marketing agency, Connectimass, Ingrid Riley, said AgriHack is expected to increase the business and employment opportunities for the young people involved.

She said it is hoped that the applications developed will also lead to the transformation of the sector, and the improvement of the image of agriculture.

The AgriHack Talents Programme is expected to be launched throughout the Caribbean next month, while the finals of the regional hackathon will be held in Suriname during Caribbean Week of Agriculture from October 6 to 12.