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2026 cycle deadline April 1, 2026 (passed). Annual program — check world-food-forum.org for 2027 round.
The World Food Forum Innovation Awards 2026 organized under the FAO World Food Forum recognize and support youth-led agrifood startups tackling challenges in food systems climate and nutrition using innovative technologies including AI precision farming and digital agriculture. Winners receive $17,000 in prize money global exposure through the FAO network and the opportunity to pitch their solutions at FAO headquarters in Rome.
The awards support innovative AI-powered solutions across the agrifood value chain including crop monitoring supply chain optimization food safety and nutrition analytics climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable food production systems. The program is part of the broader World Food Forum initiative to engage young entrepreneurs in transforming global food systems.
This is distinct from the CGIAR AI Hub which funds institutional AI research and from NSF AI-ENGAGE which focuses on US-Quad agricultural AI partnerships.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Youth-led agrifood startups with innovative technology solutions including AI for food systems climate adaptation and nutrition. Applications through the World Food Forum portal. Check worldfoodforum.org for specific 2026 deadlines and application details. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $17,000 prize money per winner plus global exposure and opportunity to pitch at FAO headquarters in Rome. Additional in-kind support including mentorship and networking. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
The published deadline was April 1, 2026, which has passed. Check the official notice for any future application windows before investing time in a proposal.
World Food Forum Innovation Awards 2026 for AI and AgriFood Technology Startups is funded by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This listing is flagged as international in scope. Check the official notice for country-specific restrictions before applying.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory is the leading United Nations-based startup pitching and acceleration platform helping AI startups grow and scale their solutions to address global challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The program features monthly regional pitching sessions highlighting startups across regions and sectors leading to the AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva Switzerland in July 2026. Four winners are selected for their innovative and scalable AI-powered solutions with the top startup receiving a $20,000 grand cash prize. The program provides global pitching opportunities funding connections to investors expert mentorship exclusive networking with UN agencies and industry leaders and media exposure. Regional events are held worldwide including in Turkey Africa and other regions to identify top startups. This competition is open to ventures leveraging AI machine learning and advanced algorithms to address real-world issues in areas such as healthcare climate sustainability education agriculture disaster response and digital inclusion. This is distinct from the Google.org AI for Social Good awards which provide larger grants to established organizations and from the Technovation AI Ventures Accelerator which focuses specifically on young women.
The AI4D Responsible AI Empowering People program is a major joint initiative by Canada International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) investing over CAD 100 million to support responsible AI development and deployment in the Global South. The program funds research organizations in developing countries to generate knowledge shaping inclusive ethical and sustainable AI policies. Individual grants of up to CAD 1 million support projects studying socio-economic impacts of AI building local AI research capacity strengthening health systems through contextualized AI solutions and developing responsible AI frameworks. Recent calls have focused on AI impacts in Africa awarding up to four grants per call. The related AI for Global Health (AI4GH) initiative provides CAD 22.3 million over seven years specifically for AI health research. IDRC also partnered with the International Science Council to explore AI impacts on science systems in the Global South. This is distinct from TWAS Seed Grants which target individual early-career African researchers and from Humanity AI which is a US-based philanthropic coalition.
The UNICEF Venture Fund provides up to US$100,000 in equity-free seed funding to early-stage, for-profit technology startups in UNICEF programme countries (developing countries) that are developing solutions to improve the lives of children. The Fund focuses on frontier technologies including data science, machine learning, AI, and blockchain. Specific AI focus areas include using ML/AI techniques to understand the digital world and its dynamics, understanding relationships between variables that impact development indicators (learning, socio-economic, resilience, health), and applying optimization techniques to improve service delivery and resource allocation. The Fund runs multiple thematic open calls throughout the year including Data Science & AI, Climate & Health, FemTech, and Child Online Safety. Startups must be registered in a UNICEF programme country, have a viable working prototype, and commit to open-source licensing. Women-led startups, young founders, and founders from emerging markets are especially encouraged to apply. The UNICEF Venture Fund has invested in over 200 startups across more than 70 countries since 2016.
Missouri's Department of Agriculture has reopened its Urban Agriculture Cost-Share Grant — reimbursing 75% of project costs up to $10,000, with applications due September 15, 2026. A companion Food Insecure Cost-Share Grant closes August 26. Here is how these small, fast state grants work, who qualifies under the Census 'urban area' definition, and how to layer them with the federal USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production program for a durable urban-farming funding strategy.
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