For Immediate Release
Bangkok – The Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) Grand Challenge South and Southeast Asia Regional Hub (S/SEA RIH) announced the five winners of the Open Call for Innovations.
These awardees work throughout the water-energy-food nexus, helping farmers across Thailand and India grow more food with less water and energy. Together with the S/SEA RIH, the innovators will address energy access, food security, and poverty reduction, through environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient technology that protects nature and biodiversity.
The innovators will receive customized support packages that consist of a combination of grants, technical assistance, enabling environment support, and investment facilitation. The five awardees are:
Climes (India) developed a comprehensive carbon finance-enabled approach that incentivizes smallholder farmers to transition from chemical-intensive practices to regenerative agriculture.
DD Solar (India) provides solar panels and storage, as well as services, for fisheries and fish farmers.
Dvara E-Registry (India) helps smallholder farmers transition to direct seeded rice and promotes the use of sustainable agricultural practices.
FarmConnect Asia (Thailand) offers a comprehensive solution for precision agriculture that includes an Internet of Things (IoT) controller sensor system and high-efficiency irrigation equipment.
Human Ventures (India) supports farmers in accessing credit, high-quality farming inputs, expert guidance, and connections to markets.
WE4F is a joint $88 million international initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). WE4F aims to increase food production, poverty, and promote biodiversity, climate, and environmental resilience by sustainably scaling solutions to meet the challenges in the water-energy-food nexus.
The WE4F South and Southeast Asia Regional Innovation Hub (a consortium of Tetra Tech and DevWorks International) supports the expansion of energy and/or water-efficient innovations in 15 countries, with a focus on the economically vulnerable. Innovations include technologies, business, finance models, and new modes of cooperation.
To learn more, visit: https://we4f.org/asia and follow @WE4FGCD on X.com.
