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Starting this March 19, people who are part of the Costa Rican livestock sector will be able to participate in the INNOVA-VERDE ideas contest whose objective is to finance innovative initiatives that reduce carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG) from this productive sector.
In this second edition, INNOVA-VERDE will be implemented in the livestock sector, dairy cattle, dual purpose and meat. It seeks to support at least 20 innovative ideas with non-refundable funds totaling up to €300,000 euros. The competition is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), coordinated by the German Development Cooperation GIZ and the Environmental Bank Foundation (FUNBAM), while the execution will be carried out by Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible.
This initiative is of utmost relevance to promote and accelerate sustainable solutions in the country’s productive sectors, so that by maintaining their productivity and profitability they can also reduce their environmental footprint and increase their resilience to climate change. The vice minister of MAG, Fernando Vargas, stated: “Costa Rican livestock production is different, because the livestock sector has been doing the task and has transformed its production system which, today, is more sustainable and environmentally friendly. We are committed to continue supporting these efforts. This competition is an excellent opportunity to identify and support innovative ideas that have a positive impact on our environment and contribute to the sustainable development of the country.”
The INNOVA-VERDE contest will reward ideas in two thematic lines:
• Scalability: Proposals are sought that allow the scalability of technologies already empirically and scientifically proven so that they significantly increase the number of farms/producers and/or agents in the value chain that adopt these technologies.
• Innovation: Proposals and ideas that focus on the development and piloting of innovations and new technologies are also sought.
The contest is open to producers or any agent in the livestock sector value chain that demonstrates a link with primary production. It should be noted that a minimum participation of 25% is sought for livestock companies led by women and young people. Additionally, when someone requires collaboration; Associations, cooperatives, NGOs or universities may collaborate to support the beneficiary.
“The European Union is committed to supporting Costa Rica in its transition towards low-emission, climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural production systems. In this second ideas contest we will be favoring the livestock sector to innovate, be more resilient and scale solutions. This initiative is aligned with shared climate commitments on mitigation and adaptation, and is part of the external dimension of the European Green Deal,” said Sylvanie Jardinet, European Union Cooperation Officer in Costa Rica.
“These types of initiatives are aligned with our work premise based on the promotion of environmental, social and economic development; projects that provide accessibility and scalability to a more sustainable livestock sector and thus inclusively benefit people in the sector, so that they significantly increase their production through climate actions and prevent risks on their farm,” says Marianella Feoli Peña, Executive Director of Fundecooperación. for Sustainable Development.
How to take part?
To be part of the contest you must complete the registration form that you will find on the website www.fundecooperacion.org/concursodeideas, there you will have access to the documents that detail the contest guidelines, in addition, through Fundecooperación’s social networks, MAG and GIZ will be informed about the different ways in which support will be provided to people interested in formulating their proposals.
Interested persons will have time to present their proposals until May 31, 2024 and can send their questions to the email: egomez@fundecooperacion.org
It is important to highlight that to comply with the requirements, a minimum counterpart contribution from the beneficiary and the beneficiary of 50% of the required investment is necessary, which can be in kind and/or cash.
“INNOVA-VERDE is an ideas competition co-financed by the European Union and the Government of Germany, it will have a total of 3 editions, the one for the coffee sector has already been held, now this second edition for the livestock sector is being carried out and soon it will be in musaceae, with non-refundable funds of up to 300,000 euros for each competition. With great enthusiasm we hope to start receiving innovative proposals for this second edition of the INNOVA-VERDE competition. The ideas we are looking for will be evaluated based on their potential to reduce the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the sector, their adaptation . and resilience to the effects of climate change, research/academia inclusivity and cost-effectiveness. The participation of women and young people is very important and we strongly encourage them to present their ideas,” said Alberto Vega, Director of the TRANSFORMA-INNOVA program, on behalf of GIZ.
People interested in participating will have a little more than two months to present their proposals. The deadline to send their ideas will be Friday, May 31 of the current year.
The INNOVA-VERDE ideas competition is carried out within the framework of the multi-donor TRANSFORMA-INNOVA program “Transformative routes in low-carbon emissions and climate resilient -, Climate-smart agriculture and value chains in Costa Rica”, financed by the Ministry Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI), as well as co-financed by the Union European. TRANSFORMA-INNOVA is implemented by the German Development Cooperation GIZ, as the lead agency of the consortium made up of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Teaching Center (CATIE), Conservation International Costa Rica (CI-CR), Costa Rica Foundation United States for the Cooperation (CRUSA), Environmental Bank Foundation (FUNBAM) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).