The Sustainable AgTech Challenge
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The Yield Lab Institute aim to identify AgTech Startups, with a scalable business model, that can tackle some of the most pressing issues of climate change in agri-food systems in the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC).
Agriculture and food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LAC) are rightfully recognized as among the most successful on the planet: they have fed a fast-growing population, facilitated economic development, enabled urbanization, generated substantial exports, and helped drive down global hunger and poverty.
Yet despite these significant contributions, the public image of the region’s agriculture and food systems as dynamic, productive, and efficient reflects only part of a more complicated reality. The impressive achievements have come at the expense of significant environmental and health costs.
LAC agriculture uses over one-third of the region’s land area, consumes nearly three-quarters of the region’s fresh water resources, and generates almost one-half of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. And despite the consistent food production surpluses, millions of people in LAC regularly go hungry or suffer from malnutrition and related diseases. In short, the region’s successes in feeding the population and exporting food to the rest of the world are exacting high costs on people and on the environment.
On top of that, climate change emerges as a powerful driver affecting the evolution of agriculture and food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Agriculture in LAC is highly vulnerable to climate change, as a result of temperatures rising and changing patterns of precipitation levels. By the mid-21st century climate change is also projected to reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources in most dry subtropical regions.
The call for this challenge is aimed at innovations and startups with products, services and/or technologies that are contributing to fight the causes and impacts of climate change, thus creating more regenerative, sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems.
How to participate?
Applicants can participate in the Sustainable Agtech challenge by completing their application before the deadline.
The application form has questions that will provide information for the policy assessment and for the selection process.
Startups on the following categories are welcome to apply:
- Specialty Crops: Solutions that address challenges of crops that require specific and intensive inputs and value chains, such as cherries, avocado, citrus,berries, etc.
- Row Crops: Solutions that address challenges of crops that are traditionally planted as densely seeded, machine-laid rows, such as corn, soybean, sugar cane, wheat, etc.
- Proteins: Solutions that address challenges of land-based animal and alternative proteins, such as beef, pork, poultry, dairy, plant-based, cell-cultured, etc.
Startups, innovations and technologies have the potential to address broader agricultural and food challenges along the entire value chain (from farm to table).
Join the AgTech revolution and apply to the Sustainable AgTech Challenge.
Submit your application by July 7th 2021.
