Second Edition of the IFAD Latin American and Caribbean Rural Youth Innovation Award

Rome, 1 July 2021 - The International Fund for Agricultural Development is to hold the Second Edition of the Rural Youth Innovation Award for Latin America and the Caribbean on Thursday, 8 July at the Bogota’s EAN University.

Through this event, IFAD intends to recognize, support and give visibility to initiatives led by young people aged between 18 and 35 that offer innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems caused by COVID-19 in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. A total of 131 projects from 15 countries are competing for this year's award, which includes rewards for material, training and publicity.

The event will feature the remote participation of the finalists and winners in five categories:

• Marketing solutions and market access;
• Connectivity;
• Financial inclusion;
• Recycling and alternative energy;
• Women’s empowerment and gender equity.

The ceremony will see the launch of a publication entitled Pathways of Innovation, by journalist Fernando Francia. The text, which will be available in digital form after the event, tells the story of the projects that won the first edition of the prize in 2020 and of the people and groups behind them. Some of those people will join in this year’s event.

They include the Sembrando Vida group in Buga Valle (Valle del Cauca, Colombia), which runs a seedlings nursery benefiting formerly-displaced mothers and youth who have returned to the community. Or Raiz, an agro-technology company formed by eight young engineers and economists from Brazil’s State of Espirito Santo, who developed an application that directly connects 251 family farmers to the market.

Guests joining the event remotely include IFAD's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rossana Polastri, the Rector of EAN University, Brigitte Baptiste, and senior officials from Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture, among others.

The Award for Rural Youth Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the first initiatives undertaken by IFAD's Knowledge Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Brasilia, with support from the Government of China through the
IFAD-China South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility.

To attend the event, prior registration is required on the website https://evento.premiojovenrural.org/. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the same site from 9 a.m. Colombia time next Thursday, 8 July.

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Media advisory n.: IFAD/07/2021

IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided nearly US$23.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached about 518 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub.