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Agritech Challenge 2021 to benefit smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa


In an effort to help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa, a new initiative was launched on Thursday to facilitate implementation of innovative agri-tech solutions to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission – NITI Aayog, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rabo Foundation launched the

Challenge 2021. This is aimed at helping address the issues faced by smallholder farmers around productivity, climate change and supply chain as well as working alongside International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bayer as partners.

“As we look to the recovery phase, it is critical that the global financial architecture intensifies its support to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically in frontier markets,” said UNCDF Executive Secretary Preeti Sinha. She added that the UNCDF has a unique role to play in supporting innovative solutions that can support those most at risk of being left behind, notably small-holder farmers in last mile markets. “Digital transformation can be a key enabler for driving recovery and resilience,” Sinha highlighted.

According to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), agriculture employs more than one billion people across the globe. In addition, more than 50% of micro, small and medium enterprises in emerging economies are also engaged in agriculture. A large number of the people employed in agriculture are smallholder farmers who own less than 2 hectares of land, yet constitute 82% of total agriculture landholding. Nearly 50% of this farmland is in lower-middle-income or low-income countries. In terms of production, smallholders play an important role in driving agricultural productivity, as they are responsible for more than 50-60% of agriculture produced in these countries.

Arindom Datta, Executive Director, Rural & Development Banking/Advisory, Rabobank stated that while agriculture is a lifeline in many developing countries, it is also a high-risk sector. “It is subject to unpredictable factors from prices, policies, diseases, to erratic weather and climate change. The Agritech Challenge is aligned with our focus on innovations in addition to traditional approaches to help develop a more self-reliant and shock responsive agriculture ecosystem that can address food security issues and also benefit smallholder farmers,” he said.

As per FAO, about 113 million people worldwide were already suffering from severe acute food insecurity before the Covid-19 pandemic. This figure is estimated to have dramatically increased in 2020-2021 with the World Food Programme (WFP) estimating 272 million people are at risk of becoming acutely food insecure.

Through this challenge, UNCDF will also enable cross-border collaborations among emerging markets across India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia.

Stressing on the significance of startups and the innovation ecosystem, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said that Indian startups will have a lion’s share in the technology export market globally over time. “Indian startups leverage their tech and data capabilities to provide solutions for the next billion people of the world and shall prove to be globally relevant in the coming years. This initiative is an important step in that direction,” he added.

Over the course of the Agritech Challenge, the participants will get access to industry and market linkages, investors and mentorship to help them expand to their chosen international market. The Challenge will work towards helping the participants build and test their solution in the new market, as part of UNCDF’s work under the Global Centre for Financial Health, with subsequent support on scaling the solution as well.

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