King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) will launch Qassim International Hackathon for Agricultural Technology, the largest of its kind in the Middle East in the agricultural sector, on September 26, 2019, in Qassim region, with the support and follow-up of Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud, Governor of the Qassim region. The hackathon will be organized by KACST, represented by the Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators, and in collaboration with Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Community Foundation "Mojtamae". The Hackathon will consist of three tracks comprising marketing and growth, management and follow-up of agricultural projects, and use of Artificial Intelligence and data in pest and agricultural control. Nawaf Al-Sahaf, the CEO of Badir Program, said that the agricultural sector is one of the main pillars for supporting the Vision 2030, as the sector contributes to the provision of 25 per cent of all food available for consumption, SR 53 billion to the gross domestic product (equivalent to 4 percent of the non-oil GDP), and employs 450,000 people across the various regions of the Kingdom. The Hackathon is open for participation by programmers, designers, entrepreneurs, web developers, owners of innovative Idea, in addition to specialists and those interested in the agricultural sector.
