Agriculture Grants

Seeding The Future and IFT Announce 2024 Seed Grant Winners and Grand Prize Finalists

Eight projects awarded $25,000 Seed Grants by Seeding The Future Foundation & IFT to advance solutions in sustainable agriculture.

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.

administrator
As a dedicated journalist and entrepreneur, I helm iGrow News, a pioneering media platform focused on the evolving landscape of Agriculture Technology. With a deep-seated passion for uncovering the latest developments and trends within the agtech sector, my mission is to deliver insightful, unbiased news and analysis. Through iGrow News, I aim to empower industry professionals, enthusiasts, and the broader public with knowledge and understanding of technological advancements that shape modern agriculture. You can follow me on LinkedIn & Twitter.

Leave a Reply