Open Call for Project Proposals 2024

In protected agriculture and controlled environment agriculture (CEA), growers face technological and environmental challenges, including high initial investments, energy demands, water management, and pest control. Key innovations needed include energy efficiency through renewable solutions, automation and AI for resource management, cost reduction for accessibility, sustainable practices with biological controls, crop diversity to enhance resilience, and improved data integration for optimized operations.

Irrigation and water management face challenges such as water scarcity, inefficiency of traditional methods, high costs of advanced technologies, and outdated infrastructure. Innovations are needed in developing affordable irrigation solutions, integrating smart technologies for real-time monitoring, and enhancing water efficiency through micro-irrigation techniques.

Innovative seeding tackles challenges in precision, scalability, and environmental sustainability. Advancements are needed in precision technologies for seed placement, adaptive systems for diverse conditions, and scalable solutions for different farm sizes. Sustainability remains key, focusing on minimizing environmental impact and promoting biodiversity through climate-smart practices and enhanced seed production techniques.

Sustainable fertilizers face challenges in reducing environmental impact, improving nutrient efficiency, and developing cost-effective solutions aligned with food security goals. Innovations are needed in precision agriculture, biofertilizers, and nano-fertilizers to enhance nutrient uptake and soil health, while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen runoff. Making fertilizers more accessible and affordable is also key to supporting sustainable agriculture globally.

Conventional crop protection chemicals face significant challenges related to environmental risks, human health concerns, and regulatory complexities. Innovations are needed in developing selective and environmentally benign chemicals, integrating digital technologies for precision application, and researching genetic resistance in crops. Expanding the use of biopesticides and natural products offers sustainable alternatives to conventional chemicals, aligning with consumer preferences for safer agricultural practices.

Addressing food waste and loss involves challenges related to technology, logistics, and environmental impacts. Key innovation needs include developing efficient organic waste management solutions, extending shelf life through advanced preservation technologies, and creating sustainable packaging. Strategies such as protein extraction from food waste using insects and non-thermal food processing technologies are crucial for minimizing waste and enhancing sustainability in food systems.

The alternative food sector, encompassing lab-grown foods, insect farming, and 3D food printing, faces challenges such as high production costs, consumer skepticism, and the need for improved supply chains. Key innovation needs include reducing costs, enhancing taste and texture, developing scalable production systems, ensuring environmental sustainability, and improving nutritional profiles. Addressing these challenges is vital for increasing market adoption and meeting food security and sustainability goals.

Drones and satellites for crop monitoring face challenges such as data integration, weather resilience, high costs, and limited connectivity in remote areas. Innovations are needed to enhance data analysis, improve imagery accuracy, create cost-effective solutions, and ensure interoperability across technology platforms. These advancements are key to optimizing crop health and soil monitoring through precision agriculture.

Integrated Aquaculture Management (IAM) faces obstacles related to environmental impacts, disease control, resource competition, and climate change adaptation. Innovations are needed in alternative fish feed, advanced monitoring technologies, efficient resource use, and scalable practices to improve sustainability and productivity. These developments aim to enhance the economic viability of aquaculture while promoting ecological balance and operational efficiency.

In the field of reproduction and breeding, various hurdles affect the sustainability and efficacy of practices, including maintaining genetic diversity and leveraging genomics for livestock improvement. Innovations are needed in gene editing, automation, and environmental sustainability to enhance traits like disease resistance and productivity. Additionally, advanced data analytics and biotechnological approaches can help optimize breeding outcomes and preserve genetic diversity, ultimately contributing to food security and reducing the environmental impact of livestock production.

Optimizing plant operations in arid and semi-arid climates faces significant obstacles, including water scarcity, poor soil health, and extreme temperature variations. Key innovation needs include developing drought-tolerant crop varieties through genetic research, enhancing soil health and fertility with sustainable practices, and implementing precision agriculture technologies. Additionally, creating climate-resilient farming systems can improve adaptability to environmental stressors, ultimately supporting more sustainable agricultural practices in these harsh regions.

Plant molecular farming for vaccine production encounters significant hurdles, including achieving high yields of target proteins while maintaining consistency and purity. Key innovation needs focus on improving protein expression through optimized genetic constructs and transformation techniques, enhancing purification methods for effective isolation of plant-produced proteins, and ensuring precision in post-translational modifications to boost vaccine efficacy. Additionally, developing sustainable agricultural practices is crucial for minimizing environmental impacts and promoting the acceptance of plant-based vaccine production methods.

Molecular farming, or plant molecular farming, encounters several obstacles that hinder its widespread adoption, including regulatory complexities, safety concerns, and challenges in achieving consistent productivity and yield. Key innovation needs focus on developing enhanced biocontainment strategies to prevent GMO spread, robust purification technologies for efficient isolation of pharmaceutical proteins, and optimizing plant growth conditions through advanced genetic engineering. Addressing these needs is essential for improving scalability and ensuring the commercial viability of plant-based biomanufacturing systems.

The Laundry Additive of the Future aims to develop a breakthrough product that complements detergents, costing 50% less and emitting 50% less CO2 than current additives. The goal is to create a system that effectively removes organic matter from aqueous solutions or surfaces at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, within minutes, while maintaining low CO2 emissions. Innovation needs include a new liquid product that matches the performance and safety of current bleach alternatives, focusing on malodor and stain removal, visible action signals, and a significantly reduced carbon footprint. Additionally, there is a demand for natural or low-emission alternatives to synthetic phosphonate chelators and bio-based substitutes for super-absorbent polymers sourced from renewable materials.

The Spontaneous Project Proposal or Startup Pitch call invites researchers, startups and innovators to submit their project proposals or startup pitch decks for evaluation. Submissions will be considered for support from Future Farming Initiative, affiliated industrial partners and investors.