Agrifood and Water

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The global demand for healthy food and clean water is escalating, driven by population growth, urbanisation, and changing dietary patterns. However, current agrifood and water systems face significant challenges in terms of sustainability, resource efficiency, and environmental impact. Unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to deforestation, soil degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. To address these pressing issues, we need innovative solutions that leverage data and technology to ensure the supply of healthy food and clean water while promoting net-zero emissions and nature-positive approaches.

Ensuring the availability of healthy food and clean water is a critical global challenge that necessitates transformative solutions. Rapid population growth, coupled with the impacts of climate change, places immense pressure on agricultural systems and water resources. According to the United Nations, the global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, requiring a 70% increase in food production. According to a report by the United Nations, approximately 690 million people are affected by hunger, and 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Concurrently, water scarcity affects over 2 billion people worldwide, compounded by inefficient water systems and climate change. The agrifood systems also contribute up to 29% of global greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change and threatening long-term food security. This depicts the magnitude of the issues and underscores the urgency to seek innovative solutions.

Conventional agricultural practices often rely on intensive use of fertilisers, pesticides, and water, resulting in soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. Additionally, the food system accounts for approximately one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, further exacerbating climate change.

Data and technology offer immense potential to address these challenges. Advanced monitoring technologies, such as remote sensing, drones, and IoT sensors, can provide real-time data on soil moisture, crop health, and water quality. This information can enable precision agriculture, optimising resource allocation, reducing waste, and minimising environmental impact. Moreover, the advent of new biological-based technologies can have a positive impact on sustainable and increased food production.

We are seeking innovative solutions that utilise data and technology to revolutionise our food and water systems, ensuring their sustainability, healthiness, and resilience in the face of climate change and growing demands. We are looking for proposals that leverage cutting-edge technologies, such as IoT (Internet of Things), blockchain, artificial intelligence, or predictive analytics, as well as biological-based technologies, genetic resources in agriculture and food, gene editing, biomolecules, and other technologies that could to optimise agricultural practices, enhance water management, and promote sustainable supply chains. The objective is to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint while simultaneously fostering positive impacts on nature and delivering healthy food and clean water to communities around the world.

We are looking for:

• Innovative solutions that leverage data and technology to revolutionise agrifood and water systems. Proposals should focus on developing scalable and replicable approaches that promote sustainable agricultural practices, efficient water management, and transparent supply chains. Solutions that foster nature-positive approaches, promote biodiversity conservation, and contribute to net-zero emissions will be highly valued.

Collaboration between researchers, technology developers, policymakers, and local communities is crucial to address this challenge effectively. By leveraging data and technology, we can achieve sustainable and resilient agrifood and water systems that ensure the supply of healthy food and clean water while mitigating climate change and preserving the planet's natural ecosystems.

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