Winners of 2022 Arrell Global Food Innovation Awards

7 June 2022. Working directly with communities to build capacity and improve access to food is a common theme for both winners of this year’s Arrell Global Food Innovation Awards.

The winners have made significant impacts to communities worldwide. The two prizes of $100,000 are awarded annually in these categories: research innovation and community engagement innovation.

Winner of the research innovation award, Delia Grace Randolph is a renowned scientist with unique

and transformative impacts on the safety of food systems and public health in developing countries. As a trained veterinarian and epidemiologist, she brings a special expertise on the interconnectedness of animal health, human health and eco-health to her work. A focus of her work is improving food safety in informal markets in developing countries.

“I’m honoured to be named the recipient of the Arrell Global Food Innovation Award in the
area of research impact. There is a very critical relationship between animal, human, and environment health and I hope we can continue to research and find ways to help improve food safety and thus the health of humans and animals. While there is still a lot to learn, by listening and engaging, thinking and trying, we can achieve much more.” Dr. Delia Grace Randolph.

Winner of the community engagement innovation award, is a non-profit organization that works

directly with community groups to produce and deliver high-quality, farmer-to-farmer training videos. The video resources help to provide informative and relevant content to farmers in small communities. The organization helps ensure the videos are available in local languages and accessible to smallholder farmers even in remote rural areas where technology, power and internet are limited. Over the past decade, the videos have reached 90 million people and have helped ensure healthier and more resilient food systems.

Accepting the award for Access Agriculture are Paul Van Mele, co-founder and director international development; Josephine Rodgers, co-founder and executive director; and Jane Nalunga, coordinator of the Rural Entrepreneur program.

“On behalf of the Access Agriculture team and our worldwide partners, we are delighted and grateful to receive the Arrell Global Food Innovation Award. Farmers are vitally important to rural and urban communities, providing healthy food that people need. Thanks to local community groups and grassroots organizations we are able to identify topics relevant across the Global South, where inspirational farmers can show others how to farm in harmony with the environment. These resources in local languages will have a lasting impact on today’s and future rural communities.” Josephine Rodgers, co-founder and executive director AccessAgriculture

Related:
7 June 2022. Arrell Food Summit 2022

The global food system is pressured by demands of a growing population, and we need to find and implement solutions to feed our population while protecting our planet. 

The Arrell Food Summit, brought together food leaders and experts from across the system to co-create solutions and discuss how we can work together to ensure a healthy and resilient future of food.

Some of the topics included:

• The future of protein
• Disruptions in the food system
• Ag-tech innovation and investment
• Food sovereignty
• Youth perspectives on the future

Sessions:

Food Systems Transformation 
How will the food system change in the 2020s and beyond? In this session, Hannah Tucker will share her research into the disruptive developments transforming the food system, taking us on a journey across ecosystems and around the world. We will explore three possible scenarios—Doomsday, Synthetic and Regenerative—along with ways of actively shaping the outcome.

The Future of Protein 

Governments, farmers, food processors, environmentalists and everyday consumers all have an opinion on an essential nutrient - protein. As conversations grow around cellular agriculture and lab-grown meats, the feasibility of raising livestock sustainably, the rise of plant-based diets, and the tension between new technologies and traditional foods, it's clear that the future of protein is a multi-stakeholder debate filled with difficult questions. The goal of this session is not to provide simple answers to nuanced questions, but rather, to allow participants the opportunity to engage in a holistic dialogue that provides context, informs decisions, and explores new ways of thinking.

Food Sovereignty's Role

What role do traditional knowledge, sustainable land stewardship, and access to nutritious and culturally relevants foods, and people's rights to define their own food and agriculture systems play in the global path toward our collective food future? Are new technologies on a collision course with food sovereignty rights, and what is the best way forward?