Key Takeaways
- Eight projects awarded $25,000 Seed Grants by Seeding The Future Foundation & IFT to advance solutions in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and food system challenges.
- Growth Grant and Grand Prize finalists selected, with winners to be announced in June 2025.
- Innovations span global regions, with winners based in Africa, North America, and beyond.
- Technologies address diverse issues including crop protection, post-harvest losses, nutrient recovery, and safer dairy processing.
- Seeding The Future Foundation and IFT emphasize early-stage ideas as critical drivers for food systems transformation.
Seeding The Future Foundation & IFT: Supporting Early-Stage Innovations to Tackle Global Food Challenges
Seeding The Future Foundation and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) announced the winners of the 2024 Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge Seed Grants. The program supports entrepreneurs and researchers creating impactful solutions to improve food security, sustainability, and nutrition worldwide.
Seed Grants, valued at $25,000 each, are awarded to early-stage projects that have developed prototypes or demonstrated proof of concept.
“Big ideas at an early stage deserve to be recognized, promoted and supported to reach their full impact potential when scaled,” said Bernhard van Lengerich, founder of Seeding The Future Foundation.
2024 Seed Grant Recipients
| Project | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Omega Foundation | Cameroon | Ultrasonic locust repellent for crop protection |
| Baobaby | Togo | Indigenous, climate-resilient baby food and women farmer empowerment |
| BIO PLANET TMC Ltd. | Benin | Organic fertilizer from waste for farmland restoration |
| MAMLO FOODS, Ltd. | Kenya | Peanut micro-factories and women farmer training |
| National Agricultural Research Organization (NaSARRI) | Uganda | Climate-resilient greengram and sorghum varieties |
| Safi International Technologies | Rwanda/Canada | Affordable pasteurization control for small-scale dairy |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | USA/Namibia | Sustainable Kalahari melon oil processing |
| Vexxel | USA | Smart biocapsules to reduce agrochemical use |
Growth Grant and Grand Prize Finalists Named
In addition to Seed Grant recipients, Growth Grant finalists and Seeding The Future Grand Prize finalists were announced. Growth Grant winners will receive $100,000, while Grand Prize winners will earn $250,000 each, with winners revealed in June 2025.
Growth Grant Finalists include:
- CSIR-SARI (Ghana) – Aflatoxin-resistant groundnuts screening
- Munakyalo Agrofresh (Uganda) – IoT-powered post-harvest cooling hubs
- Smartel (Rwanda) – IoT-smart hydroponic systems
- SOS (Dominican Republic) – Sea-land symbiosis initiative
- Toothpick Company Ltd. (Kenya) – Bioherbicide technology
- Yayasan Kopernik (Indonesia) – Indigenous farming revitalization
Seeding The Future Grand Prize Finalists include:
- ABALOBI (South Africa) – Small-scale fisheries ICT and market access
- Agro Supply (Uganda) – Aflatoxin-free maize and fortified flour
- Oorja Development Solutions (India) – Climate-smart irrigation and advisory services
- Savory Institute (USA/Kenya) – Regenerative food, land, and livelihoods for Maasai communities
Seeding The Future: Advancing Scalable Food System Solutions
The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, now in its fourth year, aims to accelerate innovation and scale solutions that make food systems more sustainable, nutritious, and equitable.
“This year’s winners exemplify the power of entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity to transform food systems… benefiting people and the planet,” added van Lengerich.
Final awards and recognitions will be announced later this year as part of ongoing efforts to foster impactful innovation across global agri-food value chains.
