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Benoît Maria Prize for Peasant Agroecology

Deadline: 02-May-2024
The Agronomes & Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF) is currently accepting applications for the Benoît Maria Prize for Peasant Agroecology.

In 2022, Agronomes & Vétérinaires Sans Frontières created the Benoît Maria Prize for peasant agroecology in tribute to his colleague and fervent defender of the rights of indigenous populations, assassinated in August 2020 in Guatemala.

This international prize aims to highlight and reward innovative agroecological projects carried out by farmers’ organizations in Africa and Latin America every two years.

Objectives
  • Pay tribute to Benoît Maria, engaged in Guatemala for more than twenty years in the defense of the rights of indigenous peasant communities and the promotion of agriculture which allows them to live with dignity and which respects this land which is theirs.
  • Promote agroecology in the service of peasant agriculture, the only way to ensure the development of sustainable agricultural production and livestock breeding, respectful of biodiversity, the climate, human and animal health and finally, of the men and women who practice it.
  • Reward and publicize initiatives carried out by peasant organizations, in favor of agroeco-logy and the recognition and defense of their rights.
Themes
  • In connection with the commitments and achievements of Benoît Maria in Guatemala and consistent with the values and objectives of AVSF, the themes are as follows:
    • Agroecological techniques and practices
    • Organizational systems and services upstream and downstream of production, promoting agroecology
    • Actions to defend the economic, social and cultural rights of farming families, in the service of agroecological production, and ultimately, the improvement of income and their inclusion in their territories
  • A candidate farmer organization may present an initiative relating to one or more of the themes mentioned above.
Prize Information
  • A jury will designate a first prize with a financial grant of €6,000 and two other winners, each with a prize of €3,000.
  • In addition, a list of 10 nominated farmer organizations will also be established.
  • To these financial allocations will be added ad-hoc communication in the country of origin of the award-winning peasant organizations and in France, making it possible to give visibility to these organizations and their initiatives (dedicated page on the sites of AVSF and its partner, publications on social networks, press communication, awards events, etc.). In addition, a document listing all the application files will be produced in digital form.
Types of Eligible Actions
  • Implementation and dissemination of technical innovations and agroecological practices;
  • Training, experimentation and action research systems;
  • Creation of developments and works in the service of agroecology;
  • Establishment of services (supply of seeds, inputs and specific equipment for agroecological systems, training and advice, financial services, etc.) and/or production and/or processing support units;
  • Establishment of innovative marketing channels;
  • Actions promoting gender equality and the inclusion of young people, linked to agroecology.
Eligible Countries
  • For the first two sessions, the eligible countries selected are as follows: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Madagascar, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Haiti and Bolivia.
  • The list of selected countries will be specified at each session.
Eligibility Criteria
  • The organizations eligible for the Benoît Maria Prize are:
    • Peasant organizations of the cooperative type, producer association or producer group
    • The umbrella organizations or cooperatives (second degree) must have a close link with the grassroots organizations
    • To be eligible for the Benoît Maria Prize, organizations must
      • Be located and legally recognized in one of the regions or countries mentioned
      • Have at least two years of legal existence and be able to attest to their legal status.
Criteria
  • The criteria for evaluating the initiative carried out by the PO are as follows:
    • General relevance of the proposed initiative for the promotion of agroecology with regard to (a) the local situation and (b) the three proposed themes
    • Quality of actions undertaken (expected relevance)
    • Results and impact: benefits gained by members of the farmer organization from the proposed actions
    • Results and impact: benefits gained by other territorial actors or stakeholders from the proposed actions
    • Results and impact: benefits gained by young people and women from the actions undertaken
    • Sustainability of actions implemented
    • Possibility of scaling up or replicating the initiative put in place

For more information, visit AVSF.