QING Innovation Track - Competition for Climate Adaptation in Food Systems
To achieve a transformation in food systems under climate change we need you! Yes, you, the climate generation, who are both vulnerable to the current and future impacts of climate change, but also offer the way forward.
Selected teams
The game is on! The panel of experts has selected the below 5 teams out of 35 excellent proposals. These teams receive 2500 euro and get mentoring of a QING engineer. On September 22, the teams will present their results and one team will get the chance to showcase their project at the Pre-COP #All4ClimateItaly on September 29!
Agriceng.cloud Team
This African team is developing an Application that users can feed in basic information such as the amount of food to dry and the location. The App will then generate an appropriate dryer design that can serve the situation. They have already developed a pilot App that works for only one type of dryer and within this competition they can improve the App to include other types of dryers common in Africa.
Team Higher Himalaya
Primary purpose of the project of this team from Nepal is to store the apple production of Jumla for more than 6 month increasing its shelf-life and secondly, supply according to the demand in the market after the value addition on it. The team will work on a cold chamber that will operate under zero energy to store the organic apple of Jumla.
Team The Melt
This team from New Zealand wants to deliver an alternative dairy product that engages consumers, who are increasingly concerned with the environmental and health impacts of food. Many plant-based cheese products available in New Zealand and other countries do not reach texture, taste, or nutrition parity with conventional dairy cheeses. The transition to sustainable food systems will, in part, be enabled by delicious and nutritious foods that have a low impact on the environment.
Climate Smart Agro-Hydropan multipurpose crop production system Team
The purpose of the project of this team from Kenya is to mitigate the challenge of inadequate food supply in arid and semi-arid regions of Kibwezi Sub-county, Makueni County, Kenya. They will make use of a climate smart agro-hydropan technology that is environmentally friendly and ensures constant food supply and enhance food security within the region.
Team UNI “Berry-bot” Rover Agricultor
This team from Peru works on an applied research project that seeks to innovate in the agricultural sector with the use of a robot to automate tasks such as weed control, monitoring of production and phytosanitary parameters through integration of Deep Learning techniques applied to a vehicle with autonomous navigation and a monitoring interface that facilitates its management.
Timeline QING Innovation Track
- Join the Q&A session on June 22, 3 - 4 pm CEST for all your questions.
- Apply before July 5, 9.00 am CEST by sending in your Concept Note (by using the provided template).
- July 7, 3.00-5.00 pm CEST: Selection Event with a panel of experts from WUR, CCAFS and QING. The panel will interview the teams after short presentations. Teams will be notified if they are invited to the Selection Event before July 6, 3 pm CEST.
- July 12: Announcement of the five selected teams.
- July 15, 3.00 – 6.00 pm CEST: QING and IAAS will organise a training about Project Planning to give anyone of you the chance to get the skills that will help all five teams in making their project successful.
- September 19: Submit a vlog on the results of your project and a business concept.
- September 22, 3.00-5.00 pm CEST: Presentation Day with the 5 teams, experts and mentors!
- September 29: Pre-COP #All4ClimateItaly, showcasing the winning vlog.
Panel of experts/ Jury
- Ana Maria Loboguerrero Rodriguez, Head of Global Policy Research@CCAFS
- Bram de Vrught, Business Manager@QING
- Ivo Demmers, Head of Programme Food Security and Valuing Water@WUR
QING mentors
- Martin Ruiter: Team The Melt
- Lars Haarmeijer: Team Agriceng.cloud
- Tanika Scherbinski: Team Higher Himalaya and Team Hydropan
- Peter Aleven: Team Berry-Bot
Other way to participate in the competition
You can also participate and be part of the competition if you are not amongst the five selected teams! You can enter the Competition for Climate Adaptation in Food Systems by submitting a vlog of your project, action or initiative. The vlog should focus on climate adaptation in food systems. Deadline is September 5.
Background
Youth initiatives have led to widespread changes in households, schools, business ventures, communities, countries and regions. Unfortunately, climate change impacts affect the ability of both young men and women to secure livelihoods, incomes and food. Engaging and collaborating with youth organizations through social learning approaches and platforms is key to empowering young people. These collaborations can link youth with cutting edge science on climate change, agriculture, and food security, putting them in the center of development. Together we can transform the food systems to make it sustainable and resilient in order to secure food for all.
Organizers
The QING Innovation Track is part of the Competition for Climate Adaptation in Food Systems. The competition is organized by CCAFS, WUR, GAIN, IAAS, CSAYN and QING. Leading up to the Pre-COP #All4ClimateItaly and in support of the Global Youth Pledge, #Act4Food #Act4Change.
CCAFS: The overall purpose of The CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is to marshal the science and expertise of CGIAR and partners to catalyse positive change towards climate-smart agriculture (CSA), food systems and landscapes.
WUR: Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is an educational and research institution in The Netherlands that focuses on the domain ‘healthy food and living conditions’. WUR’s mission: ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’
GAIN: The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses and civil society, GAIN aims to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious foods for all people, especially the most vulnerable.
IAAS: The International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS) is the biggest student organization in the field of agriculture and related sciences worldwide. IAAS was founded in 1957 in Tunisia, and started with only 8 member countries. It grew a lot to the organization it is nowadays with over 50 member countries and about 10.000 students as members.
CSAYN: The Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN) is a group of volunteers (based in in the African continent and , also Asia, USA and Europe)- linked across the world via an online platform to share findings and seek advice for their practical projects – that have a strong interest in Climate-Smart Agriculture and the environment.
QING: QING is a high-tech engineering consultancy company with plug & play engineers who solve today's complex problems with tomorrow's technology with a special focus on food production and energy; so called Forward Engineering. QING is based in The Netherlands.