M4D Open Innovation Challenge

 

M4D seeks innovations that expand access to and effectiveness of insurance solutions for smallholder farmers and rural enterprises. Solutions should strengthen climate, crop, or livestock insurance products, or promote digital platforms that lower costs and improve trust, transparency, and uptake of insurance products. Solutions must credibly improve the resilience of food systems.

 

M4D seeks innovations that strengthen the resilience of rural communities and institutions facing fragile situations — where people experience high vulnerability to natural and human-made shocks, weak governance, and limited institutional capacity. Solutions under this track should demonstrate how they actively identify and address priority drivers of fragility affecting smallholder farmers and rural communities; promote prevention and resilience, tackling root causes rather than symptoms; apply a “do no harm” approach, ensuring inclusiveness and sensitivity to conflict and vulnerability; and adapt to fragile contexts, maintaining engagement even when situations evolve. Solutions may be piloted or scaled in fragile contexts or situations, and applicants should articulate how their innovation contributes to reducing fragility in their target area.

M4D seeks digital tools that enhance the accountability, efficiency, and reach of agricultural and rural advisory services. Solutions might include data-driven extension platforms, or automated decision-support systems that improve timeliness, transparency, and inclusion in service delivery. Pilots must demonstrate an ability to strengthen local institutions and their service delivery to smallholder farmers.

M4D seeks innovations that advance agroecological transitions by bridging sustainable production practices, ecosystem services, and inclusive market access to strengthen rural livelihoods, resilience, and food security and nutrition.

Solutions may include digital and financial innovations that enable agroecological practices at scale; new approaches to technical assistance, knowledge sharing, and co-creation with producers; the production and use of bio-inputs and biocontrols; adapted small-scale mechanization; integrated soil fertility management and soil restoration; improved access to and management of adapted genetic materials; circular and efficient resource use; applications of geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and Earth observation data tailored to smallholder and diversified production systems; and solutions that foster agroecological production, certification, traceability, and value addition through local and territorial market systems.