From May 15-17, 2024, as part of the “Solidarity Year for a Green World,” the “Caspian Agro 2024” XVII Azerbaijan International Agricultural Exhibition and the “InterFood Azerbaijan” exhibition were held at the Baku Expo Center. Nearly 500 companies from 38 countries participated in the event.

As part of the “Caspian Agro 2024” International Agricultural Exhibition, the largest hackathon competition of the year, “GreenAgroHack,” was held for the first time. The hackathon was organized by the Agrarian Innovation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Technical University, and the “Bilişim Vadisi Baku Center,” with the partnership of several startup ecosystem players. The main goal of the hackathon was to use innovations and digital technologies to increase productivity in the agricultural sector, improve agricultural management, and raise youth interest in this field. In this context, participating teams were tasked with forming their startup ideas on 10 specific areas of agriculture, as determined by the hackathon organizing committee.

Due to the “COP29” event to be held in Azerbaijan this year, the hackathon competition was given 29 hours, 29 minutes, and 29 seconds. Nineteen higher education institutions and five secondary schools participated in the competition. The hackathon, which ended on May 16, saw four teams emerge as winners and receive various cash prizes.

The “Remote Livestock” team, representing Mingachevir State University, included Nurlan Azizli (a staff member), Elshad Emrahov, Namiq Qədimli (students), Nərmin Məmmədyarova (a student from Azerbaijan Medical University), and Sahib Əsgərov (a student from Azerbaijan Technical University). The project proposed by the team focused on the application of artificial intelligence in livestock farming, developing a camera system to prevent calf mortality in dairy cattle and to monitor grazing and walking habits of cattle.

A unique aspect of the hackathon was that hundreds of companies were present in the exhibition, aligned with the 10 solution areas presented by the organizing committee. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the “Remote Livestock” team met with representatives from nearly 20 companies and conducted surveys with them. The goal of the survey was to assess how realistic the proposed solution was and whether it addressed existing problems.

The project was well-received by many companies, with two companies—“MDC Tarım” and “AfiFarm”—offering to support the development of the project in the future, providing consultation, expert involvement, and laboratory support.

At the exhibition, information about Mingachevir State University, its Development Strategy document until 2030, and the work being done to develop the startup ecosystem at the university was shared with the surveyed companies and visitors to the hackathon zone.