Hackathon Competition Seeks Innovations to Tackle Agricultural Burning in Thailand’s Highlands
Submissions are open from today until July 31, 2025, with an opportunity to win 20,000 Baht and present your innovative ideas one-on-one, team by team, in front of the expert panel and attendees from various countries at the AgriFuture Conference 2025 on September 24, 2025.
If you have an idea, feel free to submit it to us at https://forms.gle/mRiJ3sAbkoeKpUaM9
Visit the AgriSpark website at https://www.agrispark.net
AgriSpark – Hack the Hills! is Thailand’s agricultural innovation hackathon. This year, we come with the theme “Hack the Hills” to focus on discovering ways to add value to agricultural waste on steep terrains in northern Thailand. In Northern Thailand’s uplands, post-harvest maize residues such as stalks and leaves are frequently burned, releasing harmful PM₂.₅ particles, damaging soil biology, affecting respiratory health, and worsening climate change. Thus, AgriSpark woudl like to invite global thinkers and doers to co-create alternatives that protect the environment and empower farmers.
These solutions must be practically applicable and scalable to other highland areas facing the same problems, to create positive impacts on society and the environment through cleaner air, better soil, and more sustainable Thai agriculture. Submissions are welcome from all fields, whether you are a student, developer, inventor, engineer, innovator, or farmer. If you have determination to help transform Thai agriculture, you can submit your idea!
This competition is organized under the cooperation of the German-Thai Agricultural Cooperation project (GETHAC) and the Thailand’s Department of Agricultural Extension (DoAE) as project implementation partners, who have worked together since the first phase in 2020 up to the current second phase. The objective of GETHAC in its second phase is to emphasize the importance of developing and building innovation networks to improve production systems and agricultural management sustainably. This hackathon is part of developing these innovation networks.
The AgriSpark Hackathon, a platform connecting innovators from across regions to tackle real challenges in Thailand’s agricultural sector, supports climate-smart and sustainable farming aligned with the Department of Agricultural Extension’s (DOAE) “Going Green” strategy by aiming to reduce air pollution and PM₂.₅ emissions while protecting farmers’ health and local soils. The hackathon’s participants will be working closely with farmer stakeholders to prototype impactful solutions. There are 2 use cases addressed under this year’s theme, Hack the Hills!,
1st Use Case – FROM HILL TO ROAD, presented by Enable Earth
When field maize cultivation continues in highland areas, annual burning results from the attempt to destroy maize residues such as stalks, leaves, and cobs. Enable Earth has found a way to add value to these agricultural wastes by converting them into biochar for various uses. As these residues gain both value and benefits, farmers will have more options to manage maize residues left after harvest. However, the issue is, “How can we efficiently and cost-effectively transport the maize residues from steep slopes down to roads accessible by vehicles without damaging the topsoil?”
Read more at https://enableearth.eco/#agrispark
2nd Use Case – BURN NO MORE, presented by German-Thai Agricultural Cooperation (GETHAC)
The GETHAC project has worked with various crops in multiple areas, including upland maize, with efforts to encourage farmers to switch to higher-value crops such as coffee. However, this kind of transition takes a long time to fully implement. Therefore, for highland areas where maize is still grown, “What methods could help decompose or manage the residues directly in the field on steep terrains or remote mountain areas to reduce burning problems?”
Read more at https://www.gethac.com/hackathon
The finalists team will have an opportunity to live-pitch their work one-on-one, team by team, in front of the expert panel and attendees from Thailand and many regions worldwide at the AgriFuture Conference 2025, held on September 24, 2025, at TrueDigital Park, Bangkok. There will be opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with other finalist teams, the judging panel, owners of two use cases, and many attendees from the public, private, civic, and academic sectors.
The issue of burning in agriculture, especially on sloping highland areas, is an urgent matter that all sectors must address and prioritize. The project hopes that this AgriSpark Hackathon – Hack the Hills! will be a space to spark the potential of participants in thinking, creating, analyzing, and inventing solutions for managing agricultural waste in the highland areas to reduce burning, leading to sustainable agriculture in Thailand with cleaner air, better soil, improved environment, and healthier local communities.
🔗 Read more details on the website: https://www.agrispark.net/
📅 Submit your proposals from today until July 31, 2025
📝 Have a great idea you’d like to present? Click here https://forms.gle/VkZHKtZGxxum8zK27