With the demand far outstripping supply when it comes to the cultivation of crops for human consumption and animal feed for nurturing the growth of animals for meat, the world is facing unprecedented global challenges that affect the sustainability of food and agriculture systems.

The livelihoods of millions of family farmers worldwide are at risk as they struggle to strike the right balance between meeting sustainability goals while satisfying the produce needs of a growing population. With everyone having the fundamental right to a life free from hunger, these challenges must be overcome by increasing yield with the responsibility for this falling firmly at the feet of family farmers.

With advancements in technology and new processes to ensure that this increase in produce is achieved being out in place by forward-thinking farmers all over the globe, the UNIDO International Award for innovative ideas and technologies in agribusiness is seeking to recognize and reward those that work daily to keep up with the demands of a rapidly growing population.

The international contest is aimed at identifying the latest ideas and the adoption of new technologies to support the agribusiness sector that could lead to social, environmental and economic improvements if implemented in developing countries.

The contest offers an opportunity at an international level to highlight and promote new solutions to upgrade food security and safety requirements in developing countries while creating links with the business world to establish positive synergies with the opportunity to submit the project to potential partners in the UNIDO network. Specifically, they’re looking for ideas across the following themes:

  • Cultivation, harvesting, processing, conservation, packaging and distribution of agricultural, livestock and fishery products;
  • Valorization of agricultural products of local communities and aimed at fighting food waste and losses;
  • Logistics management and access to international markets of agricultural products of DCs;
  • Improvement of life and economic conditions of workers in the agricultural and similar sectors in DCs;
  • Development and qualification of a local market for food and agricultural goods and byproducts;
  • Environmental solutions for agribusiness waste treatment & management, and production of energy and water from alternative sources for agricultural, human and zoo technical use;
  • Smart and Urban Agriculture and ICT & big data application.

The initiative is promoted by UNIDO ITPO Italy, Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in collaboration with the Future Food Institute and is currently accepting applications for the 2019 awards.

Applications must be received by 31st March 2019, and you can find out more about the awards and the benefits that they can offer for the global farming community here.

Nominees will be invited to attend an award ceremony to be held in Rome on 15 May 2019 within the framework of EXCO 2019, the first-ever international expo of Development Cooperation to be held in Italy this year.

To find out more about the criteria for nominations and to submit your application for this prestigious award that not only recognizes the dedication of farmers but also helps promote new ideas and technologies to support the future of agriculture in developing countries, click here.