UK registered organisations
can apply for a share of up to £2.5 million from the Global Challenges Research
Fund (GCRF) to work on agri-tech and food chain innovations in Africa.
The aim of this competition is to increase
the pace of innovation in the development of agricultural and food systems in
Africa. Your project must result in more use of innovations by farmers and food
systems organisations, such as manufacturers, processors, retailers,
distributors and wholesalers.
Focus Areas
You can choose from
one or more of the following areas:
·
primary crop and livestock production,
including aquaculture
- non-food
uses of crops, excluding ornamentals
- challenges
in food processing, distribution or storage, and value addition (such as
through a change in the physical state or form of the product)
- improving
the availability and accessibility of safe, healthy and nutritious foods
Your project’s innovations must:
- be
sustainable in the context of environmental challenges such as climate
change and resource scarcity
- minimise
negative effects such as pollution, food loss and waste
- promote
safe, healthy and nutritious diets
Outcomes
Your
application must demonstrate how the primary benefit from your project will be
a contribution to international development outcomes, specifically:
- enhanced
food and nutrition security and
- welfare
of the poor in urban and rural areas in developing countries
Activities
carried out in the UK must clearly deliver impact in an eligible African
country. Any benefits to the UK must be secondary in nature and result from
delivering the primary benefit. Your proposal must clearly demonstrate the ways
it will have an impact in the country.
Specific Themes
Your
project can focus on any area that improves the uptake of agricultural and food
systems technology and innovation, for example:
- integrating
smallholders into global and local supply chains
- increasing
the value of production to smallholders
- control
of crop pests, weeds and diseases
- meeting
quality standards and improving productivity
- reducing
food losses ‘post-farm gate’ and through the value chain
- addressing
food safety issues through the value chain
- new
food technologies and data-driven food systems, including for urban areas
- addressing
challenges in downstream food processing, distribution, or storage and
value addition
- innovation
that supports food systems to deliver nutritious, healthy and safe food
Funding Information
For
early stage feasibility studies, your total eligible project costs must be
between £100,000 and £500,000.
Eligibility Criteria
Any
UK registered business claiming funding must be eligible to receive state aid
at the time we confirm you will be awarded funding. It is not possible to award
grant funding to organisations meeting the condition known as undertakings in
difficulty.
Your
projects must:
- have
total eligible costs between £100,000 and £500,000
- start
by 1 April 2021
- last
between 12 and 18 months
All projects must:
- be
collaborative
- include
a UK registered lead applicant organisation (known in previous rounds as
the ‘administrative lead’)
- include
a technical lead, from any country
- include
at least one business (from the UK or an eligible African country from the
list below)
- include
at least one partner from an eligible African country
- implement
significant activity in the eligible African
The
roles of lead applicant and technical lead could be carried out by a single UK
organisation.
Your
project can also include other businesses, academic institutions, public sector
organisations or research and technology organisations (RTOs). They must claim
funding through this competition and be invited to join the application by the
lead applicant.
Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) can join the
consortium as non-grant claiming partners. Their costs will count towards the
total eligible project costs.
The lead applicant:
- will
be responsible for completing the application
- will
be the recipient of the award (referred to as ‘project manager’ in the
Innovation Funding Service)
- will
manage and be accountable for the project’s finances in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the award
- must
be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity,
public sector organisation or research organisation
- must
claim grant funding through this competition
- can
partner in up to 2 other applications where they are neither the lead
applicant nor the technical lead
The technical lead:
·
will lead on the development of the scope,
work packages within the project and other work from a technical perspective
- can
be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity,
public sector organisation or research organisation, or a partner
organisation from any country
- must
claim grant funding through this competition and be invited to join the
application by the lead applicant
- can
also be the lead applicant if it is a UK registered organisation
Post Date - 20-Jul-2020