The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the SEED partnership officially launched the SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme, an instrument designed to help agrifood system start-ups develop their businesses while contributing to the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
During a virtual event held at FAO's headquarters in Rome, 12 innovators from around the world used a workshop to showcase how they are contributing to the SDGs while supporting such a transformation in their local context.
The small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were selected among the hundreds that comprise the portfolio of the adelphi-hosted SEED partnership. They are to be supported by the programme in three areas: financial readiness, innovation potential, and market reach. The kind of help they will receive includes assistance in the development of business, marketing or investment plans, as well as advice on how to approach potential financiers or on how to go digital.
“Together with SEED, we want to explore how the innovators involved can make a difference in the transformation of agrifood systems locally as we work towards achieving the SDGs globally," commented Stefanos Fotiou, director of FAO’s Office of Sustainable Development Goals. "Leveraging the network of innovators from SEED and nurturing local agrifood solutions through a tailored innovation support package opens new ways for FAO to have an on-the-ground impact."
The programme acknowledges that all 17 SDGs are interconnected and addresses challenges across a broad range of goals, from no poverty and zero hunger to good health, gender equality and climate action.
Operating across eight countries in Africa and Asia, the 12 SMEs who joined the programme have been pioneering solutions designed to transform agrifood systems while improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in their communities.
In Thailand, Listenfield applies scientific principles and climate data in order to provide precision farming solutions that cut field operation costs and provide a detailed outlook for yield prediction.
The results of the FAO-SEED Agrifood Accelerator Programme will be shared during the Global UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment, which will take place in Rome, Italy from 24-26 July 2023, at the premises of FAO.
