Grow Further is a nonprofit organization (based in Seattle, Washington USA with a national/global remote team) that makes grants to agricultural innovations relevant to smallholder farmers and other populations at risk of food insecurity. They are a privately funded public charity founded by an economist and funded by a diverse community of individual donors, spread globally.
Call for Proposals
Grow Further invites agricultural researchers to submit proposals for funding, and in some cases also management assistance.
In this grant cycle, Grow Further will consider grants in nutrition, climate adaptation, and farm income. Subject to the quality of applications, they intend to make two grants, one in the area of climate adaptation and one in the area of nutrition and value-added agriculture.
Eligibility Criteria
All types of organizations, public, private, and nonprofit, are in principle eligible to apply, though Grow Further may apply additional due diligence to for-profit entities.
They anticipate awarding most grants to institutions based in low, lower-middle, or upper middle-income countries, though this is not a requirement as long as the grant benefits smallholder farmers and other populations at risk of food insecurity in these countries.
Thematic Areas
1. Socio-economic Goals
Grow Further supports grants relevant to smallholder farmers and other populations at risk of food insecurity and improve one or more of the following:
Nutrition: This includes both improving nutrient levels in crops (e.g., biofortification) and improving the raising of species that are already nutritious (fruits and vegetables, fish, etc.).
Climate adaptation: This encompasses not only heat tolerance but also almost all types of biotic (pests, diseases, weeds, etc.) and abiotic (heat, drought, salinity, submergence, cold, soil nutrient, etc.) stress tolerance in both crops and livestock. Anything that reduces the risk of farming or helps farmers on marginal lands is likely also climate adaptation. We also count work on adaptation to increased carbon dioxide levels as climate adaptation.
Farm income: This mainly encompasses facilitating the production of high-value products or improving the quality of existing products, but can in some cases involve lowering the cost of production.
2. Species
Grow Further funds research on domesticated species relevant to food and nutrition security, including cereals; legumes; edible roots and tubers; fruits and nuts; vegetables and edible mushrooms; forage crops; animals raised for meat, milk, and/or eggs; and species that support food production (cover crops, bees, draft animals, etc.).
This does not include timber; biofuels; crops and livestock raised for fiber; crops grown for recreational substances; ornamental plants; herbs and flavorings unless there is a clear connection to food security; etc.
3. Disciplines
Grow Further will consider proposals from a variety of disciplines, including information and communication technology in agriculture as well as more traditional disciplines like agronomy, crop science, plant protection, animal science, veterinary medicine, soil science, and agricultural engineering.
4. Knowledge Systems
They generally fund applied field research, including on-farm trials, as opposed to basic laboratory research. However, for scaling up technologies Grow Further plans to rely on private-sector commercialization, government agricultural extension services, or affiliated impact investment funds rather than philanthropic capital.
Benefits
Grow Further generally make grants in a range of $10-100,000 per year. Grants generally last for 1-5 years. Particular grant announcements may include more specific ranges. The grants are considered cost-reimbursable.
Application Deadline – The deadline for this grant announcement is 11:55 pm (Seattle time) on January 31, 2023.
