Guest Post: The Eye Within The Tornado
Mobile journalism at the TFF summit. Photo by Jelmer de Haas Fotografie
The Thought For Food (TFF) Foundation has successfully concluded its TFF challenge at the global summit in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and as always, it has left us with a thought-provoking temperament.
“Give the world what you can offer” – Alpha Sennon
This was a quote from Alpha Sennon, co-founder of the WHYFARM (We-Help-You-Farm) Organization and key-note speaker at the TFF global summit. It is a simple yet powerful statement that always invites introspection…..What do I have to offer? With new challenges and new inventions increasing daily, we the young innovators of tomorrow are in the midst of a tornado. A tornado filled with changes all around us that take us into uncertain directions. But how do we overcome this situation?
This year the TFF movement saw over 8000 innovators all geared towards the worldwide challenge of feeding 9+ billion people by 2050. Against the background of on precision agriculture, food producing architecture/agricultural systems and indoor growing, this year’s TFF summit also delved into the latest synthetic biology and other science-based innovations. The summit facilitated an exploration into #whatsnext in food and agriculture.
The mere thought that each individual through their own projects can have their own direct involvement in food security beacons the accomplishments the world can achieve. The summit in itself creates an opportunity for each individual to add to the world of innovation, their way of making a change.
Alpha Sennon (WhyFarm Founder) presenting at the summit
We have witnessed ideas covering many disciplines in food and agriculture. Some of these include investment platforms, floating greenhouses, enzyme delivery systems and seaweed fertilizers just to name a few. Even so, the winning idea from Team Cultivando Futuro of an information and agro-commerce platform that leverages open data to analyse market trends and provide information to farmers and buyers highlights how much the agriyouth have to offer. Congratulations to Cultivando Futuro!!!
But #whatsnext for the Caribbean?
The Caribbean region has so much to offer. We have yet to probe into the tropical blessings of our land. Understanding that we can change the world and that food security is both an opportunity and a responsibility whilst using innovation as our best weapon….we can find answers anywhere when we collaborate and share.
This year the TFF saw the most Caribbean based participants ranging from long time ambassadors to first timers. This Caribbean group was able to retain both agricultural and industry knowledge as we examined the solutions that other participating teams have come up with. Our region is vastly behind the times, meaning our agriculture sector stakeholders are likely to see the projects, technology and science of the TFF as that of the far flung future. However we are TFFers, forever changed and awake and we will now take the story and the foresight of TFF into our regions through our various projects. It is only through change in the mindset of our population, can we make a step closer in achieving food security.
And given the promising ideas of upcoming projects from our experience at the summit, commences the reality of food security within the Caribbean.
However it is only when we all decide to give what we can offer is when we can truly take control of the tornado
TFF Founder Christine Gould with Team L.E.A.F from Trinidad and Tobago
- Guest post written by Christopher Bascombe, Contributor to Tech4Agri and Ambassador for Thought For Food