Deadline: 25-Jun-21
The Food Equity, Equality and Democracy is inviting nominations for the Inqola FEED Innovation Prize to highlight ideas and solutions that have the potential to create meaningful impact on the food system in South Africa.
Globally, they are seeing an ever-increasing use of technology to drive change in the food system – innovators are finding new methods of farming, including in the harshest conditions, or in urban environments, finding new pathways for food to reach people, or new ways to decrease or re-utilise waste generated from food.
The food system is ripe for innovation, and tech has a critical role to play. FEED and their partners believe that a more open and participatory food system is the best path to creating a more equitable one. They advocate for giving people the tools for creating change in their own lives, and the activities in the food system revolve around systemic changes that would enable this shift.
Thematic Areas
- Local Economies: With a focus on value chains within a particular community or geographical setting, local economies are still connected to other scales of economies but are distinct in their characteristics, nuances and mechanics. In the context of difficult economic and environmental circumstances, there has been a renewed interest in local economies in recent years since a localised focus has the potential to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, create local jobs, keep money in local communities, create a shared identity, increase community economic health, decrease businesses’ carbon footprints and more.
- Circularity: The concept of circularity (i.e. a closed loop system) features centrally in the emerging school of circular economics. This model has inspired governments, businesses and non-profits to carefully think about how they manage and decrease their waste, as well as how to use their waste cleverly. The food system is especially important to think about in a circular manner, given that waste at the levels of production, processing, distribution and consumption account for a significant percentage of all waste (and pollutants) globally.
- Supply Chains: Zeroing in on supply chains is one of the ways of bringing a systems-thinking approach to life. By thinking through how a particular product or service travels through the chain, either excluding or including, positively or negatively affecting stakeholders, innovators can be more deliberate about the kind of impact they want to achieve. Strengthening supply chains is also part and parcel of risk management and building back better after Covid-related disruptions.
- Agroecology: The agroecology movement focuses on the intersection between agriculture and the natural environment, especially in the context of climate change and inequality. While it is often associated with organic farming practices, agroecology goes much deeper and integrates indegenous and traditional knowledge into all facets of the food system. In South Africa, a growing body of farmers, businesses, activists, academics and others is convening to discuss ways to enable and mainstream agroecological thinking and practices.
- Capacity Building: Building capacity among food system actors is critical if they are to empower people to participate meaningfully. This could take the form of: training, apprenticeships, workshops, peer-peer mentoring, ongoing support, ecosystem building, resource access and so forth. Capacity building is best delivered through an integrated approach, where development outcomes are linked to programmes, tools and operating streams.
Prize Information
- The winner will receive R100,000 with the runner-up receiving R50,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Solutions can be existing or new
- if you have an existing Solution, enter and tell them about the next stage of your development, an innovative or interesting idea that would take you to the next stage of your development or your plans for future success.
- if you have an idea for a new Solution, enter and tell them what your idea or innovation will be, how you intend to develop it, and the team you have put together to execute your plan.
- Solutions must be Internet-based (i.e. apps, platforms and/or websites)
- Solutions must focus on execution in South Africa
- Solutions must have a legally registered entity in South Africa (if collaborating with partners, one entity must be selected as the lead entity for entry)
- Only the online entry form (accessible after registering for the Prize) will be deemed as an acceptable form of entry
For more information, visit https://www.feed.org.za/inqola-feed-innovation-prize/