Land Innovation Fund’s announces new call for funding project
The new round seeks innovative solutions to urgent challenges on climate and environmental agendas, for sustainable, low-carbon and deforestation-free agriculture
The Land Innovation Fund launches today, November 7th, a new call for funding opportunities for projects that support sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, free from deforestation and conversion of native vegetation in three of South America’s priority biomes: Cerrado, Gran Chaco, and Amazon. The Fund's third funding round will cover nine thematic areas – protection, restoration, sustainable production intensification, carbon management, protocols and certification, public policies, monitoring and compliance, engagement, and diversity, inclusion, and participation – with a focus on innovative solutions to transform the soy supply chain. Launched alongside the opening of COP27, the call covers major issues on today's climate and environmental agenda, that also contribute to build an innovation landscape for agricultural sustainability worldwide.
This round will prioritize innovative solutions with the potential for direct and scalable impacts in the field. Proposals for other agricultural commodities will also be accepted, including livestock, when relevant to the soy supply chain. "We need to turn solutions into immediate actions to contain the advancing climate crisis and contribute directly to sustainable, low-carbon agriculture, free from large-scale deforestation," says Land Innovation Fund Director Carlos E. Quintela. "Our third funding round speaks directly to major issues at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27), in the quest for concrete solutions that promote sustainable agricultural development", he adds.
The funding amounts vary depending on the complexity of each proposal, ranging from US$500,000 to US$2 million. The nine thematic areas covered in the Call contribute to building an innovation landscape for sustainability and to bringing about technical and financial conditions for the adoption of more responsible farming practices, in line with the international climate agenda. "We know that maintaining global climate security and carbon stocks requires immediate, integrated solutions. We want to be catalysts for an innovation landscape favorable to a new agriculture, in response to today's challenges", says Quintela.
Among the thematic areas to be supported in this round are the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices to contain conversion in new productive areas and restore degraded areas; the management of carbon stocks on farms and in adjacent areas; the creation of protocols and certifications favorable to low-carbon agriculture; support for public policies and the monitoring and enforcement of regulations favorable to environmental preservation and restoration; engagement of farmers and agricultural associations; and diversity, through the inclusion and participation of multiple stakeholders in sustainable projects and initiatives.
This third funding round will take place in a single stage, with the submission of applications until December 11th. The funding opportunity is open to institutions based anywhere in the world, with proposals suitable for implementation in any soy-producing region in South America, provided they are also applicable to the Fund's three priority biomes – Cerrado, Gran Chaco, and Amazonia – in one or more of the four focus countries in the region – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Non-governmental and civil society organizations, private academic institutions, or private foundations in public universities, as well as agricultural cooperatives, farmers' associations, companies and startups are eligible to participate in the call for projects.
Proposals selected in this round will join the 28 projects currently being carried out by 34 partners in the Fund's portfolio. In January 2021, the first seven initiatives in the portfolio were announced, with investments of about $1.55 million. In May 2022, another seven initiatives, selected in the second round, were added to the portfolio for investments of about $4.1 million. In September 2022, two new initiatives were added to the portfolio by Direct Invitation to Strategic Partners. To enhance the diversity and scope of its portfolio, the Fund also supports engagement and communication initiatives through LIF360 and Land Innovation Dialogues, and by fostering innovation ecosystems funded by the Startup Finance Facility.
Full information on the call for project funding is available on the Land Innovation Fund's website
About the Land Innovation Fund (LIF)
Initially funded by Cargill, and managed by Chemonics International, the Land Innovation Fund supports the design, development, and delivery of innovative solutions for sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, free from deforestation and conversion of native vegetation, in three of South America’s priority biomes: Cerrado, Gran Chaco and Amazon. Since its launch in January 2021, the Fund has supported 28 projects working with 34 partners in the region, engaging more than 1,300 farmers and covering approximately 1.6 million hectares.