About the FARM Foundation

Founded in 2005, the Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality in the World (FARM Foundation) – a recognized public utility – aims to inform decision-makers on the best paths to take for the sustainable development of agriculture and food systems, particularly in countries of the South.

FARM is a think tank whose ambition is to contribute to the identification of solutions and the acceleration of their implementation to strengthen the resilience of rural areas and agriculture. The Foundation facilitates interactions and projects between field actors and researchers, producers and consumers, and public and private decision-makers in the Global South and North.

More information on: https://fondation-farm.org/

Theme and justification of the Prize

In the Global South, agricultural development and food and nutritional security are crucial issues that shape the territories and lives of millions of people, from producers to consumers. Faced with demographic, economic, climatic, and geopolitical challenges, it is now essential to support and assist the consolidation of sustainable food systems. A paradigm shift toward a sustainable agricultural model that accelerates agroecological transformation, enables the protection of biodiversity and soils, while strengthening social equity and fair remuneration for producers in a context of strengthening food sovereignty is essential.

Solutions are now available and being tested around the world to sustainably increase productivity—where it is still too low—and improve producers' living conditions. But, as the speakers at the FARM Foundation's 2024 international conference pointed out, investment in research, entrepreneurship, and public action to scale up and popularize methods and provide a secure economic and technical environment for producers is insufficient. Moreover, the existing links between these different ecosystems of stakeholders are currently not strong enough.

The FARM Foundation, with its unique position at the intersection of research, business strategy, and public policy, believes that bringing these worlds together is essential. This is why its programs encourage action-oriented research and the building of coalitions of stakeholders.
By launching a Foundation Prize, it intends to reward researchers who are committed to this path around the Foundation's priority action themes:

• Food and nutritional sovereignty and security
• The construction and adaptation of sustainable agricultural sectors, from producers to consumers
• The resilience of rural areas and just transition trajectories
• Financing transformations in agriculture and food systems worldwide

The Prize was co-constructed by the members of the Scientific Council and the management of FARM.
It is managed with the support of the Foundation's Board of Directors.

Objectives of the Prize

• To reward a person whose academic excellence has been recognized by obtaining a thesis and by publications or research activities and who meets the objectives of the Prize
• Promote and reward action research and the application of research results in the field of agricultural development and food security in the countries of the South.
• Promote relationships between research, the private sector and public action.
• Recognize the academic excellence of scientific work conducted with stakeholders and operators in the agricultural and food sectors.
• Stimulate research on the FARM Foundation's priority areas of action

Selection criteria and application file

The Prize will reward one or more researchers whose work has been applied in the field with stakeholders such as businesses, agricultural producer organizations, and NGOs, or whose work has contributed to supporting public policies in developing countries. Candidates must demonstrate concretely how their research has contributed to the implementation of field actions and/or decision-making among private or public stakeholders.

The Prize is open to researchers (m/f), holding a doctoral thesis, French and foreign, from the South and the North, all disciplines combined, who belong to French or foreign research and/or university institutions. The jury will be attentive to promoting research in the countries of the South and young researchers. The jury will also be sensitive to the recent nature of the research or actions carried out by the candidates.
In addition, the candidate certifies that he or she has no family ties with an employee of the FARM Foundation and/or a member of its governing bodies.

Applications in French or English are accepted.

Candidates must submit on this link before June 30, 11:59 p.m. (Paris time) their application. The application file must contain (in PDF format):

• Detailed CV (including surname, first name, postal address, email, telephone number, nationality, date of birth)
• Publications (at least 2, maximum 5) representative of the candidate's scientific production
• Summary document of 2 pages maximum presenting your motivation for obtaining the Prize as well as the interest and originality of your contribution.
• Letter of recommendation from at least one technical partner (companies, NGOs, administration, etc.) with whom the candidate worked for the consideration and/or implementation of his/her research in the field.

Only complete applications submitted before the closing date and time will be considered.

Composition of the jury

To ensure a rigorous and impartial evaluation of the submitted applications, the jury will be composed of members of the Scientific Council of the FARM Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors and external experts.

The President of the jury will be the President of the Scientific Council of the FARM Foundation.

The jury has the final say in its deliberations. These deliberations are confidential and are not subject to any dispute or appeal in any way or nature whatsoever by the candidates.

Endowment and benefits

• Total amount of the Prize: €5,000. This prize may, depending on the number of applications, be shared between one or two winners.
• Publication(s) on the FARM Foundation website and promotion of the work on a dedicated page.
• Presentation of the winners at FARM Foundation events (format to be determined).
• Media visibility of the winner and their work.

The winner authorizes the use of their work for communication purposes and to promote the prize.

Calendar

• Announcement of the award and call for applications: Monday, April 22, 2024
• Applications must be submitted by June 30, 11:59 p.m. (Paris time)
• Analysis of applications by the jury and final choice by the jury before the end of September 2024
• Award ceremony at the 2025 International Conference.

The FARM Foundation will provide the secretariat for the Prize. For any questions, please contact prixfarm@fondation-farm.org.

The FARM Foundation will cover the travel costs of the winner(s) to participate in the international conference.

Participation in the FARM prize and the awarding of a prize implies unreserved acceptance and full compliance with these rules.