Pick up a prize for ag
Recent News
We've been promoting various prizes via our tweets @syngentafdn. Some are ones we simply find "a good idea". But there some with which we are more closely connected.
For example, we are long-time supporters of the World Food Prize. Nominations are now open for the award that has been compared to a "Nobel Prize for Agriculture".
We're also a partner in a more specific award: the Fall Armyworm Tech Prize. This supports digital solutions to help stop the spread of fall armyworm (FAW) in Africa. This pest is devastating agriculture there - for example smallholders' vital maize (corn) in Kenya. Crops like sorghum, rice and sugarcane are also at risk. Unchecked, FAW* threatens farmers' livelihoods and food security across the continent. The Fall Armyworm Tech Prize is giving two awards of $75,000 for the most promising digital solutions. Two runners-up can each win $50,000 for early-stage work that shows potential. Our Chief Science Advisor Mike Robinson is on the jury. He's going to be busy: By the closing date on May 14th, the Prize had attracted 228 entries! We're delighted to add that the majority come from Africa.
More general in application, but more specific in geography is the annual award from the Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR). This is open to graduates and scientists of a Swiss institution who work in agricultural research for development. Here, the best PhD or PostDoc project wins CHF 5000; the best Master thesis author receives CHF 1000. Entries run till July 12th.
Current SFIAR President is our Head of Research & Policy Analysis, Yuan Zhou . You'll find more about her on our Team page, and can also access some of her publications.
*No, that's not FAW on our picture. But if you haven't seen a photo of this disastrous pest yet, just ask.