Application Deadline: Sunday, August 24th

A 2013 report estimated that up to 50 percent of the world’s food production ended up in the trash bin. In wealthy countries this food is often thrown away at the consumer and retail level due to excessive purchases and portions or ridiculous standards for food appearance and shape. However, there is another story to the global food waste problem. In poor countries food ends up being lost before it even reaches the table due to lack of infrastructure, poor refrigeration, or unreliable transportation.

This is what often happens in Sub-Saharan Africa, arguably the one region in the world that can least afford to lose food. In fact, the FAO estimates that Africa as a whole loses enough food annually to feed 300 million, or nearly a third of all of Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, over 200 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are today undernourished. This SRI will look at the current food-waste situation in the region, and highlight potential improvements in infrastructure, storage, and transportation of food in these countries, which could go a long way to solving the world’s most intractable and long-standing food crisis, and greatly improve the quality of life–and the future prospects–of Sub-Saharan Africa.

ABOUT THE AWARD

Mongabay.org will commit up to $15,000 to fund the top proposal: $12,000 as a stipend and up to $3,000 for reporting and travel costs. Your proposal will be evaluated based on the originality of your idea and your ability to write and publish a robust series of interesting and engaging articles. Applications must be submitted in English. You will have two months for travel and research and two months for writing. You can work from anywhere in the world.

HOW TO APPLY

Please visit our Apply page to find details on submitting an application by the deadline of Sunday, August 24th.