When
Where
Outbox Hub
About the Event
Join us at the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize Info session on Monday 23rd April 2018 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm and learn more about the challege. Register here to attend.
What is the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize?
In order to control the spread of FAW and reduce the risk of a future humanitarian crisis, smallholder farmers needimproved access to immediate, accurate and actionable information on how to treat and protect their crops. That iswhy the U.S. Agency for International Development, in conjunction with the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Initiative, has launched the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize.
The prize is seeking digital tools and approaches that source, analyze and translate data for smallholder farmers, and those who support them, so they can make timely, accurate, and relevant decisions around combatting the spread and effects of fall armyworm. Given the spread and rate of the invasion, interventions are needed at community, country, transnational, and continental levels.
The prize will award $400,000 for digital solutions that support food security and fall armyworm resilience in Africa.
● One grand prize of $150,000 to the most viable solution (with support coming jointly from the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and USAID)
● Two most promising awards of $75,000 (with support coming jointly from Land O’Lakes International
Development and USAID)
● Two up-and-comer awards of $50,000
Why should I get involved?
The Fall Armyworm Tech Prize brings together a global network of partners looking to invest in and support the
digital solutions that can tackle this infestation. That means potential applicants have the opportunity to:
● Test their innovation in new locations with accelerated feedback from smallholder farmers;
● Connect with international donors, potential investors, and new partners;
● Gain more visibility and funding.
The ideal FAW applicant has a digital tool or approach to help identify the pest, communicate interventions to
smallholders, or relay information to and from agriculture decision-makers and agents. Applicants may digitize an
existing innovation, have a current fall armyworm digital intervention looking to adapt and scale in new geographies, or an innovative tool or approach that is newly addressing fall armyworm. Applicants may wish to draw from machine learning, community-based screenings of farming advisory videos, digitally enabled social networks, SMS alerts, aerial surveillance, interactive voice recording, and digital decision trees, but should not feel limited by them.
Who can enter the prize?
The prize is open to individuals, groups and organizations with no regional restrictions. We encourage ideas from local informal groups and networks, community groups, businesses and existing service providers.
Want to apply?
To learn more or submit your application to the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize, please email fawtechprize@nesta.org.uk or go to https://fallarmywormtech.challenges.org/.
