KTN are pleased to announce Round 1 Winners of the GCRF AgriFood Africa Innovation Award
Ideas must show the potential for a positive impact on poverty through the uptake of agricultural and food systems technology and innovation.
GCRF AgriFood Africa Innovation Award Winners
The Innovation Award provided up to £40,000 to work on a collaborative project to address the AgriFood challenges of an African partner. This is particularly relevant for UK research partners, including Universities and Research Technology Organisations (RTOs). Projects must be between an African partner and a UK research partner that is likely to lead to a longer-term relationship and follow-on projects. Funding was awarded to the following successful projects:
Women’s Cooperative Marketing of Value-Added Mangrove Oyster Products in Sierra Leone (TRUST) – University of Stirling, Sierra Leone
Assessing tomato germplasm for climate-resilient, broad-spectrum parasite resistance – Queen’s University Belfast, Ghana
Hybrid-energy based irrigation system for Africa – Aston University, Sudan
Soil and Crop Improvement Technologies for Cowpea Production in Zimbabwe – Durham University, Zimbabwe
Climate-smart agriculture in Africa feasibility testing a knowledge-based assessment tool – The James Hutton Institute, Kenya
Green Gold-Blue Water managing drought risks in avocado expansion in Africa – Cranfield University, South Africa
Upgrading the flatbed dryer with a solar-powered system for African smallholders – University of Greenwich, Tanzania
CassavaBags for improved gari making efficiency (CB4G) – University of Greenwich, Nigeria
Pyrolysis of poultry waste for energy and nutrient recovery for sustainable farming – Anglia Ruskin University, Nigeria
Improving teff agronomic performance to ensure food security in Ethiopia – NIAB, Ethiopia
Needs Assessment for developing Capacity for improved Aquatic Resource Development in Africa (NACARDA) – University of Stirling, West Africa: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Southern Africa: Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique
Sustainable alternative to ugali the potential of Kenyan indigenous grains – University of Reading, Kenya
Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Analysis of Circular Economy in Ghana’s Agri-Food Value Chain – University of Sheffield Advanced Resource Efficiency Centre (AREC), Ghana
Further Information
We expect to announce a second and final call in 2020 with funding for additional awards (up to 20 awards in total across the two rounds).
For more information on GCRF AgriFood Africa, visit the programme page here.
About the funding
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund to support cutting-edge research which addresses the problems faced by developing countries. GCRF forms part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment.
In 2019, Innovate UK secured GCRF funding to extend activities that had been initiated through the Agri-Tech Catalyst, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID).
KTN has been grant funded to provide dissemination and coordination support to Innovate UK for the GCRF AgriFood Africa Programme until 2024.
For more information on GCRF AgriFood Africa, visit the Programme page here.