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// challenge brief · hack a ton 2026

Crop Whisperer

A Dobrogea farmer describes the problem in plain Romanian; the agent gives a real, grounded answer.

// Proposed by
Ambasada
// Industry
Agriculture
// Difficulty
🟢 Beginner-friendly

// the problem

Expert agronomy advice costs money small farms won't spend, so problems get guessed at. Dobrogea grows wheat, sunflower, rapeseed, and maize, and a farmer staring at spotting leaves usually has no one to ask in the moment.

// your mission

Build a conversational advisor a farmer talks to in plain Romanian ("my sunflower leaves are spotting, it rained yesterday, what do I do?") that reasons over agronomy guidance plus the local weather and gives a concrete, grounded answer, optionally from a photo.

// how it works

  1. 1Ask: the farmer describes the problem (text, and optionally a photo of the plant).
  2. 2Reason: the agent combines agronomy guides, the crop, and the local forecast.
  3. 3Advise: gives a concrete recommendation (what it likely is, what to do, when to act), with a confidence level.
  4. 4Refer: when unsure, it says so and points to a human agronomist rather than guessing.

// suggested approach

  • Inference: for model access, we suggest [LLMok](https://llmok.app). Use code AMBASADA26 for 50% off.
  • LLM + RAG over agronomy guides you gather, plus a free public weather API call. There is no image dataset to assemble (photo input via a vision model is a bonus, not a requirement).
  • Floor version: text-only Q&A grounded in the guides for one crop. Add the weather context, then optional photo input.

// how you'll be judged

  • Soundness and groundedness of the advice (cites guidance; doesn't invent chemicals or doses).
  • Calibrated uncertainty: confident when it should be, cautious when it shouldn't.
  • Usefulness in a real field situation.
  • Clarity in plain Romanian.
  • Creativity: weather-aware timing, photo input, follow-up reminders.

// stretch goals

  • Photo-based symptom input via a vision model.
  • Weather-aware spray-timing advice.
  • A seasonal checklist tailored to the farm's crops.

// deliverables

  • Git repo: code + README + run instructions.
  • Demo: real crop questions answered, grounded and weather-aware.
  • 5-minute pitch: architecture, decisions, trade-offs.