Win $60,000 in the International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture

Acknowledging digital innovation, new and existing products and practices focused on increasing effectiveness, competitiveness and resilience, the International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture is an initiative organised to boost innovation in the sector.

In partnership with the Federal Government of Switzerland, Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, has systematically put the programme in place to promote the use of digital technologies and innovative practices, producing, processing, trading, consuming and building more resilient and robust food systems.

Also, the programme seeks to provide smallholder farmers a better future, making farming more sustainable, and ultimately closing the digital gap between developed and developing countries.

Benefits

The innovation award is in two categories:

Category A

• An award of $30,000 for excellence in digitisation and innovation for sustainable food systems

Category B

• An award of $30,000 for an innovation that specifically empowers youths in sustainable food systems

Eligibility

• Applicants must be 18 years old and above

• Individuals, private companies and institutions responsible for an innovation that has demonstrated particular efficiency and used novel tools, products or services to enhance and promote sustainable food and agriculture are eligible

• Both categories of the award consider innovations that have been successfully implemented and validated

• The Award is conferred for innovations implemented during the biennium preceding the current one

• In line with the requirements and technical competencies of the Federal Office of Agriculture of Switzerland, all innovations must apply to agriculture and pastoral systems only

• Application forms that are incomplete, do not comply with the terms and conditions specified, or are submitted beyond the deadline, according to the instructions provided, will not be considered

All categories

All applications will be judged according to:

• Quality and merit of the innovation
• Potential benefit, impact and sustainability
• Scalability
• Value for money

Category A

• Applicants need to clearly indicate how the innovation impacts more than one level of supply chain from farmers to consumers
• Applicants should demonstrate how the innovation strengthens the link between farmers and consumers, e.g. through tracking sustainability features of traded food and agriculture products on labels

Category B

• Applicants need to show how the innovation strengthens the role of youth (under 35) in sustainable food systems

How to apply

Apply for the International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. Let your innovative idea begin to scale globally. Application deadline is on Friday, March 19, 2021.

---

Got a story worth telling? Shoot us an email with SUBJECT — “Story Worth Telling” — to info@smepeaks.com.