St. Louis, MO – The Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) has launched a research and innovation challenge to demonstrate how emerging geospatial technologies and methods can promote security, sustainability, and equity across the global food system. The challenge’s first workshop will take place on November 13th 2024.
This initiative, called the TGI Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge, will concentrate the talents and expertise of an interdisciplinary community comprising geospatial experts and professionals with deep knowledge of the opportunities to improve the food system through better use of geospatial data, methods, and tools.
The TGI Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge is now inviting stakeholders to engage in a community survey and workshops to shape the focus of the Challenge’s investment.
“I’m very excited about the launch of TGI’s Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge, our first strategic initiative that focuses on addressing a global problem,” said Nadine Alameh, Ph.D., TGI’s Executive Director. “This initiative will be an exemplar of the power and uniqueness of our organization to tackle global issues and fuel global research and innovations, all while engaging with the community locally and globally.”
Focus areas for the Challenge include:
- Sustainable agricultural land management: Developing approaches to using land in ways that maintain its long-term productivity and ecological health while meeting present needs.
- Equitable access to nutrition: Providing all people with access to nutritious and affordable food.
- Avoiding food loss and food waste: Working across the supply chain to prevent unnecessary food discard, conserving resources, and reducing environmental impacts.
Experts and practitioners can join the Challenge’s work by participating in workshops in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. These events will provide an opportunity to identify and advocate for problems which could become the Challenge’s focus. A community survey, now open to all, will provide further insights into how geospatial can promote food security, as people across the world share their thoughts on current practices and possible future directions. In Spring 2025, TGI will issue a call for proposals for projects addressing problems identified through this process.
For more information, visit www.taylorgeospatial.org/foodsecuritychallenge, contact the TGI team, or look for us at events throughout the year.
About Taylor Geospatial Institute
TGI is passionate about fueling geospatial science and technology to create the next generation of solutions and policies that the whole world will depend on for sustainability and growth.
The TGI consortium includes Saint Louis University, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Harris-Stowe State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Missouri University of Science & Technology, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis. Collectively, these institutions cover geospatial research from ocean depths to outer space.
For more information, visit taylorgeospatial.org.
