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AGROHACK, THE PREMIERE AG-TECH INNOVATION SUMMIT RETURNS TO SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO TO KEEP REVITALIZING THE ECONOMY

Carlos Cobian, founder of Cobian Media and producer of Agrohack

The future is ag-tech.

The future of our economy lies in ag-tech and entrepreneurship serves as the catalyst for the creation of new wealth and enterprises”
— Carlos Cobian, founder of Agrohack.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, April 28, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Agrohack, the premiere ag-tech innovation summit for the advancement of agriculture as a sustainable source of growth and economic development in Puerto Rico will kick off its second year on May 13, 2017 at the Caribe Hilton Convention Center. Agrohack is the brainchild of Carlos Cobian, an accomplished entrepreneur known for developing and fostering the growth of Latin American businesses, and also the man behind Animus, the largest female empowerment summit in the Americas. In 2016 Cobian was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce of Puerto Rico as ‘ Business Person of the Year’ and Forbes called Cobian “an emerging leader in the new Puerto Rican creative economy”.

The event will bring together international multi-disciplinary influencers of the industry ranging from techies, farmers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, government officials, transportation companies and the corporate sector that all have one goal in mind: to position Puerto Rico as the #1 destination for ag-tech development.
“The future of our economy lies in ag-tech. We have everything we need to make it happen," said Carlos Cobian, founder of Cobian Media and producer of Agrohack. "By applying an entrepreneurship mindset to this troubled industry, Agrohack will serve as a catalyst for the creation of new enterprises, jobs and wealth,” he added.

The agriculture industry in Puerto Rico has been in decline for 100 years, dropping from 71 percent of the gross domestic product in 1914 to less than 1 percent today. More than 80 percent of the food consumed on the island is imported when 90 percent of it could be locally grown. As a result, billions of dollars that could contribute to Puerto Rico’s economic recovery and stability are leaving the island to serve the economies of other countries.

Agrohack, he explained, is designed to build awareness about the agriculture sector as a new alternative for economic development, introduce game-changing innovations in agriculture, and attract people with the right skill sets to guide the industry forward in the 21st century. To meet these objectives, Agrohack will showcase ideas that add economic value to the agriculture industry all while connecting farmers with key industry players.

The conference’s agenda will be packed with talks on timely topics such as agribusiness, financing innovative agricultural projects, new farming methods, reducing imports and increasing exports, theft in farms, waste reduction, marketing for agriculture, and new agricultural technologies changing the landscape.

Cobian got the idea to create a movement to propel agriculture in Puerto Rico after becoming involved in promoting entrepreneurship on the island and studying what other countries were doing to stimulate economic development. In that process, he observed young people using innovation and technology to solve problems, create products and services, and launch their own startups.

Learning that 90 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in Puerto Rico were being imported was a reality check for Cobian. He also found out that there is significant theft in agriculture, high waste in the farm-to-home chain, limited access to capital, and communication problems among sectors. These discoveries led him to delve deeper into the industry and the obstacles hindering it.

“If we as a country want to eat healthy, create jobs and prosper, we must start by producing and buying locally,” Cobian said. “To do that, we first need to repair, modernize and revive our agriculture industry. I’m confident we can do it together.”

For more information contact: Catherine Cuello-Fuente at 1-917-545-8696 or at catherine@insidecrowd.co. For the speaker line-up and a full list of the agenda, please click here.

#AgroHack


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ABOUT CARLOS COBIAN

Carlos Cobian is an accomplished entrepreneur known for developing and fostering the growth of Latin American businesses. Cobian co-founded Idea Wireless, a pioneer in the use of mobile devices as marketing tools for brands. Wireless Idea allowed content providers to monetize their content via mobile devices across 17 countries in Latin America. Currently, Carlos Cobian is the founder of Cobian Media, H3 Tech Conference for entrepreneurs, AgroHack for the agriculture and technology industry, and the co-founder of Animus, the largest women's empowerment summit in the Americas which hosted Justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2016. Cobian is also the Founder and President of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) of Puerto Rico. He is a board member of The San Juan Tech Meetup, a mentor of the Founders Institute of Silicon Valley (who recognized him as Startup Ecosystem Champion in 2015), and an advisor for the global Puerto Rican based accelerator program, Parallel18. In 2016 Cobian was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce of Puerto Rico as ‘Business Person of the Year’ and in 2016 FORBES featured an exclusive story on Cobian as “an emerging leader in the new Puerto Rican creative economy”.

Catherine Cuello-Fuente
InsideCrowd PR
917 545 8696
email us here