Resilient small and medium-sized farms

Problem Statement

Climate and socio-economic change pose significant threats to sustainable agriculture and forestry. Extreme weather events, prolonged droughts, and increasing pest and disease pressures are leading to unstable yields, soil degradation, and a decline in biodiversity, threatening long-term productivity and ecosystem resilience. At the same time, intensification of conventional farming practices have exacerbated soil erosion, depleted organic matter, and further harmed biodiversity. Small and medium-sized farms, often lack access to affordable tools, knowledge, and technologies needed to adopt scalable, agroecological practices that restore soil and ecosystem health while maintaining profitability.

Key challenges to be addressed

Improve working conditions and overcome labour shortages in small and medium sized farms and in forestry
Specifically, increase the availability of potato varieties that are resistant to pest and diseases.
Improve soil health, enhancing soil organic matter and microbial diversity, and reducing erosion.
Mitigate the effects of climate change on crop yields and farm sustainability.
Improve drought resilience through efficient water use and drought monitoring.

Type of solutions we are looking for

We are looking for ideas, concepts. prototypes at different stages of development, close to market or market ready solutions, to address –but not limited to– the following:

Cost-effective technologies to conserve water, optimize irrigation, and improve soil water retention.
Affordable decision-support solutions –including mobile apps–,for soil moisture, drought prediction and monitoring, and/or water-use planning.
Microbial inoculants and organic amendments to improve soil health.
Solutions such as affordable digital tools, soil health sensors, precision agroecology technologies to design, implement and monitor agroecological practices, and other sustainable farm practices (e.g., new crop rotations, reduced chemical inputs, soil microbiome-friendly methods, mulching, cover cropping, carbon-farming practices, and sustainable agroforestry).
Early warning systems and tools for managing pests, diseases, and climate-related risks.
Potato varieties and pre-breeding materials that are resistant to droughts, to Phytophthora infestans and with strong agronomic traits.