At the conclusion of the inaugural year of the annual Challenge, more than $1 million in prizes and grants were awarded to winning teams whose projects stood out among the nearly 900 applications that were submitted from startups, nonprofits, universities, research institutions, and multi-organization collaborations from more than 60 countries. The vast and varied interest demonstrates the significance and drive to create a more resilient and sustainable food system to feed the world's growing population. Information about the Challenge's grand prize and grant winners is featured below.
On behalf of IFT and the Seeding The Future Foundation, a well-earned congratulations to this year's winners and deep appreciation to all Challenge participants for their important work to address the critical issues facing our global food system. We encourage all teams who work on impactful innovations that make our food system more sustainable, healthy and equitable to mark your calendars for the second Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. The application process will open in June.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the next Seeding the Future Global Food System Challenge!
2023 Seeding The Future Grand Prize Winners
Awarded for innovations that are scalable, economically feasible, trusted, and compelling to consumers, and have demonstrated major impact potential to transform the food system.
Awarded on behalf of its HarvestPlus program for their development of nutrient-dense porridges for use in school feeding programs in Zambia. These porridges utilize biofortified traditional food crops such that are often farmed and produced by women as additional contributions to the household income. IFPRI and HarvestPlus aim to uplift and equip vulnerable youth to grow into healthy, productive adults.
Awarded for its implementation of ReGen, a synergistic regenerative agriculture model to support farmers transitioning away from conventional, chemical-based farming approaches in India. Prioritizing biodiversity over monocultures, regeneration over extraction, and biological agri-inputs over chemical, Naandi Foundation provides a variety of free materials and knowledge tools to help eliminate dependence on high-cost chemical fertilizers and pesticides and improve the health of soil ecosystems and the foods produced.
2023 Growth Grant Winners
Awarded for demonstrating their innovation is doable and has projected both economic feasibility at scale and high impact potential to transform the food system.
Awarded for establishing four solar cooling hubs and offering cold storage as a service to smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. By installing large, cold storage refrigerated containers and standalone cooling systems that are attachable to existing storehouses, Association 3535 – a 2021 Seed Grant winner – provides smallholder farmers and small-scale fishermen with the ability to keep produce fresh, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing food security and potential income.
Awarded for its Pangan Initiative, addressing food insecurity in West Timor, Indonesia. By adopting an innovative approach that prioritizes the return to and use of indigenous farming practices, food preservation technologies, and a circular economy utilizing black soldier flies to convert organic and food waste into animal feed and compost for farming, The Pangan Initiative seeks to create a more climate-resilient and self-sustaining food system and community.
Awarded for its development of NutriPosh, nutritious and affordable composite flours for use in school feeding programs in Uganda. In addition to providing enhanced nutrition through the inclusion of pumpkin seeds in a composite Maize flour, NutriPosh sources ingredients produced through regenerative agricultural practices, utilizes solar powered dehydration technologies in their flour production, and uses biodegradable packaging to ensure environmental sustainability at every point in the supply chain. Nurture Posterity International is a 2022 Seed Grant winner.
2023 Seed Grant Winners
In addition to the Grand Prize and Growth Grant winners, IFT also awarded nine Seed Grants.
Recipients include:
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Aquagenius, “Small-scale Fish Farming Enhanced by a Circular Economy and Innovative, Eco-friendly Food Strategy” Feeding Albania Foundation, “Sustainable Egg Production for NGOs and the Impoverished in Albania” Global Seed Savers, “Empowering Communities for Sustainable, Equitable, Ecological, and Diverse Food Systems through Seed Sovereignty” Ndalo Heritage Trust, Sorghum Value-addition: Scaling Up Nutrition, Human and Climate Health for At-risk Populations in Siaya County, Kenya |
Safe Environment Hub, “Black Soldier Fly Farming: Changing Trash to Cash” Tiny Seed Project, “PISCES: Permaculture Institute, Cultivating Resistance: Promoting Cover Crops for Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Togo, West Africa” Urban Being Inc., “JRDN-URBN: Building Food Autonomy into the City” UV4Good, “UVC LED-based Systems to Clean Water in the Field and Other” Emergency Situations Across the World |
Challenge Funding
Funded by the Seeding the Future Foundation, the Challenge focuses on scalable and high impact innovations that reside at the intersection of three domains: safe and nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainably produced; and accessible, appealing, affordable, and trusted by consumers.