AgResults to Highlight How Prize Competitions Can Promote Innovation in Climate-Smart Agriculture at Global Conference

How can prize competitions transform food systems in a changing climate? Two AgResults-led events at the 5th Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Bali, Indonesia, aim to answer this question.

First, on October 8 at 2 p.m. local time, Dr. Tran Thu Ha of Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) Vietnam presents on approaches and results from the AgResults Vietnam Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Challenge Project. The presentation, titled “Designing Prize Competitions to Spur Private Sector Action in Climate-Smart Agriculture: The Case from Vietnam” will share how private sector-led climate-smart innovations are transforming rice production in the Thai Binh province.

Then, on October 9, a team of AgResults experts will lead a workshop titled “Using Prize Competitions to Scale Climate-Smart Food System Innovations: A Design Workshop.” The session will guide participants in an overview of how and when to use prize competitions to spur private sector actors to participate in donor-funded initiatives focused on climate-smart agriculture. A brief case study on the AgResults Vietnam Project will precede the group discussion and activity.

The speakers at the workshop include:

– Dr. Tristan Armstrong, Agriculture Sector Specialist, Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and AgResults Steering Committee member

– Nikita Eriksen-Hamel, Deputy Director, Global Affairs Canada (GAC)

– Dr. Tran Thu Ha, Project Manager, SNV Vietnam

– Justin Kosoris, AgResults

The Global CSA Conference runs from October 8-10 and explores the theme of “Transforming Food Systems under a Changing Climate.” Bringing entrepreneurs, scientists, and policymakers together, the conference aims to catalyze the partnerships needed for food systems transformation. The world is increasingly experiencing the effects of climate change, and the public and private sectors must work together to address these challenges. Leveraging finance from a variety of sources, including through prize competitions like that of AgResults, could make a difference in galvanizing new actors to step up and innovate to achieve lasting change.

Funded by USAID (US), DFID (UK), DFAT (Australia), GAC (Canada), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, AgResults has designed and implemented prize competitions since 2013 focused on spurring fundamental change in market relationships between the private sector and smallholder farmers.