The 2021 competition is aimed at optimizing year-round corn hybrid breeding processes
Syngenta Seeds and the Analytics Society of Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) recently launched the 2021 Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics, a competition that focuses on analytical approaches to improve complex crop breeding processes. The 2021 competition is aimed at optimizing year-round corn hybrid breeding processes. By optimizing seeds product development systems, scientists can ensure increased performance and crop yield potential across diverse environments.
Data analytics, mathematics and statistics students, and professionals worldwide are invited to enter by Jan. 20, 2021.
Now in its sixth consecutive year, the Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics is a collaborative effort between Syngenta Seeds and the Analytics Society of INFORMS. The competition brings together experts in mathematics, computer science and analytics, emphasizing the importance of cross-industry collaboration necessary to feed a growing population with limited natural resources. Analytics and data science play a vital role in agriculture, when farmers are facing increasing pressures from climate change, soil erosion and biodiversity loss, and from consumers’ changing tastes in food.
Innovative science and data-driven strategies have helped our industry breed more efficient, better seeds that require fewer resources and are adaptable to more diverse and variable environments,” said Gregory Doonan, head of advanced analytics, Syngenta Seeds. “Yet, that success has also brought on new challenges, namely increased output and irregular weekly harvest quantities that can create logistical and productivity issues, including storage capacity limitations after harvest. Optimizing planting schedules to ensure that facilities are not over capacity has the potential to relieve that burden.”
The Syngenta Crop Challenge gives data analytics experts the opportunity to use their skills to address real challenges farmers face, such as the unprecedented set of obstacles due to increasingly difficult growing conditions driven by climate change.
