Macon Reporter

United Nations World Food Day is October 16 and ADM  is commemorating the occasion though its ongoing support for the first ever Enactus Race to Feed the Planet. This college student competition organized by nonprofit Enactus is aimed at tackling food insecurity through plant-based agriculture, products and enterprises. ADM’s philanthropic arm ADM Cares is sponsoring the competition alongside LIVEKINDLY.

“ADM believes that everyone has the right to the food they need, and that access to nutrition has the power to solve many of the world’s challenges. Partnerships are a powerful way to find new and innovative solutions to improve the global food system,” said ADM Chief Sustainability Officer Alison Taylor. “This World Food Day, we’re proud to partner with Enactus and are inspired by the ideas brought forward by the young entrepreneurs participating in Race to Feed the Planet.”

Four project teams from Brazil, Germany and India remain in the race and will compete during the 2022 Enactus World Cup in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA from October 30-November 2. The competition began with 68 teams from 16 countries and the four finalists have the opportunity to receive a portion of $25,000 in funding to scale their projects.

Throughout the Race to Feed the Planet, student teams have been mentored by ADM experts. Projects advancing to the Enactus World Cup include:

• Eco Xingu: a social enterprise that repurposes plastic beverage bottles to create eco-tubes, a low-cost sustainable alternative for seedlings
• Save the Grain: a solar-powered, low-cost crop dryer that enables farmers to reduce postharvest losses
• Waraq: compostable plateware made from crop debris and seeds that can be planted after use
• Zaraat: an affordable storage solution that helps farming communities reduce postharvest crop loss

“The Race to Feed the Planet is important because it creates local solutions that are scalable and addresses multiple problems at once,” said ADM Global Marketing Director for BioSolutions Jan Weernink who is mentoring Project Waraq. "We need to be more creative in how we tackle food supply chain issues. It's not just one answer that makes the difference; it's a whole range of small steps that add up.”

At the Enactus World Cup, projects will be evaluated by an independent judging panel of subject matter experts, Enactus alumni, and employees from sponsor companies. The Race to Feed the Planet is one of several Enactus competitions helping to advance innovation, collaboration and positive impact in communities globally.

Original source can be found here.