Afcacia

Applications for the Agricultural Innovation for Climate Resilience Programme (AICR) are open, where individuals with innovations that support farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to build capabilities to mitigate the effects of climate change in low- and middle-income countries are welcome to apply.

Selected ventures will get up to $150,000 in equity-free funding for the implementation of a proposed growth plan. 

The program is a partnership between the World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and its Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag) commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

“Climate change adversely affects agriculture as rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, pests and diseases pose enormous challenges for smallholder farmers and alter growing conditions, leading to decreased crop yield,” noted the program’s website.

The website reports that climate change aggravates existing inequalities, with small-scale farmers, women and marginalized communities being hit hardest. 

“It is crucial for us to address climate change to secure a sustainable future for agriculture and food systems.”

Innovators from Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Madagascar will be considered.

Space-efficient, soil-saving, water-saving and renewable energy solutions will be prioritized.

 Selected teams will be invited to participate in a four-day fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp in July 2023 and will also be able to apply for the WFP Sprint Programme, which is a six to nine months acceleration program with access to support from the WFP Innovation Accelerator and relevant partners through the duration of their Sprints.

Also, participants will get mentorship and access to a global network of relevant stakeholders in the humanitarian, business and international development cooperation space.

Solutions that would have proven their concepts, scale, and value for social impact could qualify for further funding and support in future programs or events in our alumni community. 

The WFP Innovation Accelerator has so far organized over 45 flagship innovation boot camps to date.

The program has also supported over 395 teams to rapidly refine their innovations, field testing over 100 projects and bringing disruptive innovations to scale. 

Application closes on March 1.