Key Takeaways
- The 2024 Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge awarded $825,000 across Grand Prize and Growth Grant recipients
- Two Grand Prize winners received $250,000 each for initiatives in India and Kenya
- Three Growth Grant winners received $100,000 each for projects in Ghana, Kenya, and Indonesia
- The Challenge received nearly 1,200 submissions from multidisciplinary teams worldwide
- All Seeding The Future finalists gain entry into the Global Food System Impact Innovators Database
Seeding The Future Foundation and IFT Recognize Food System Innovations
The Seeding The Future Foundation and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) have announced the 2024 winners of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. Now in its fourth year, the Challenge aims to accelerate solutions that support food systems transformation across nutrition, equity, and sustainability.
“Congratulations to our Grand Prize and Growth Grant winners,” said Dr. Bernhard van Lengerich, founder of the Seeding The Future Foundation. “It is highly inspiring to see the impactful and innovative solutions developed by these dedicated teams, each addressing critical aspects of food systems around the world.”
This year’s Challenge attracted a record number of nearly 1,200 global submissions. In addition to earlier-announced Seed Grant recipients, the latest awards include two Grand Prize winners receiving $250,000 each and three Growth Grant recipients awarded $100,000 each.
2024 Seeding The Future Grand Prize Winners
Oorja Development Solutions Limited (India)
Project: Scaling Climate-Smart Farming Solutions
Oorja delivers a Pay-Per-Use model for smallholder farmers in India, including decentralized solar-powered irrigation. The bundled service also covers soil testing, sustainable farming advisory, seed supply, and mobile app integration.
Savory Institute (United States)
Project: KENYA MARA – Regenerating Traditional Foods, Lands & Livelihoods
The initiative works with Maasai herders in Kenya to graze livestock on nature conservancies, supporting land regeneration and traditional food systems.
2024 Growth Grant Recipients
CSIR – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (Ghana)
Project: Aflatoxin Screening Using NIR Technology
The research team is developing a near-infrared (NIR) tool to rapidly detect aflatoxin contamination in peanuts and applying antifungal compounds naturally found in seed coats to reduce contamination risk.
Toothpick Company Limited (Kenya)
Project: Bioherbicide Against Striga Witchweed
Toothpick produces a fungal bioherbicide to combat Striga, a pest that severely impacts crop yields. The solution, deployed as a seed coating, is being implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
Yayasan Kopernik (Indonesia)
Project: PANGAN Program – Revitalizing Indigenous Farming
Focused on West Timor, the program promotes indigenous farming practices and diverse food crops. The next phase will pilot a Local Food Hub to link smallholder production with market access.
Broader Impact and Innovation Database From Seeding The Future
All winners, finalists, and semi-finalists are included in the Seeding The Future Global Food System Impact Innovators Database and Network, a searchable resource for stakeholders in investment, policy, and philanthropy. The database supports AI-assisted or manual filtering by innovation focus, Sustainable Development Goals, and application areas such as biofortification, post-harvest loss, and school feeding programs.
“Our annual Challenge continues to incentivize innovations that impact food systems globally,” added van Lengerich, “with the goal of providing equitable access to safe, nutritious, trusted, affordable and appealing food and improving the health of people and the environment.”
