Learnings from Icertis’ hackathon for farmers

Recently, Icertis hosted India’s Largest Hackathon on AI/ML and Blockchain to solve a key problem. Farmers in developing countries like India have always been at the mercy of the weather. Changing weather patterns have further aggravated the problem. Crop insurance is a solution to this problem; however, traditional forms of crop insurance are slow, capital-intensive, and often economically unviable for private businesses. An open, trusted, low-cost, and automated crop insurance system will ensure that many more farmers come under the insurance umbrella and benefit from timely crop insurance payments.

Icertis invited developers/coders to apply themselves and figure out how modern technologies like AI/ML and Blockchain along with the power of Azure Cloud could be best utilized to find a solution to this problem.

Harshad Oak, General Manager, CTO Office, Icertis, shares his view on the hackathon:

How acute is the problem of weather for Indian farmers? Please give numbers or statistics to explain?
Farmers in developing countries like India have always been at the mercy of the weather. But changing weather patterns have further aggravated the problem. The Hackathon is where developers will apply themselves to try and figure out how technologies like AI/ML and Blockchain could help.

What is the objective of the hackathon?
We at Icertis appreciate that the way we will continue to thrive and innovate, is if we listen, learn and collaborate with the best brains in the community. And what better way to achieve this than nurturing the community and encouraging the best talent through a Hackathon. Through the Hackathon we thought we could support as well as challenge hackers from across the nation to do more! And what better technology to set the challenge for, than the combination of Blockchain and AI?

What do you plan to achieve from this hackathon?
We believe that we have so far only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of how AI/ML & Blockchain will transform our lives. It’s through brainstorming and coming together at events like this Hackathon that newer use cases and solutions will emerge. The problem statement is socially relevant, and a means to harness our energy for the public good. We are confident that this Hackathon will spark ideas and innovation well beyond the problem statement provided.

What kind of solutions are expected from this hackathon? Can you give us some indicative solutions that have been developed in the past?
Considering the quantity, quality, and diversity of data that Icertis works with, Data Science is at the very core of our innovation initiatives. It’s only through our expertise in AI/ ML and Data Science that we are delivering insights for our customers that seemed impossible until recently. We hope that the hackathon will help unravel the potential of data. Blockchains will be a crucial enabler for a secure, decentralized world, and the foundation of a smarter and autonomous world. With the confluence of AI and Blockchain, the possibilities are endless!

Will you be sharing the learnings with the government?
Some of the finest developers and architects at Icertis are mentoring and guiding the teams at the Hackathon. We are happy to support and guide the teams on their journey beyond the hackathon.