The world faces some serious challenges… as pointed out in a Farm Foundation report released last December (see my post from December on AgWired.com). That report identifies six major areas of challenges with a role in agriculture’s ability to provide food, feed, fiber and fuel to a growing world: global financial markets and recession; global food security; global energy security; climate change; competition for natural resources; and global economic development.

To help find solutions to these problems, Farm Foundation has announced a competition to award $20,000 in prizes for the most innovative and public policy options coming from the public:

“Agriculture globally faces the challenge of how to provide food to a world that is expected to have 9 billion people by 2040,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This challenge exists at the same time that we are already seeing pressures on global resources, as well as increased demand for agriculture to provide not only food, but feed, fiber and fuel.

“It is not clear that today’s public policies-designed to deal with issues of the last century-provide appropriate tools and incentives to address the challenges of the next 30 years,” Conklin continues. “Farm Foundation is offering this competition as a catalyst for innovative ideas and approaches.”

If you have an idea, get it into the Farm Foundation through this Web site (more information is also available there) by June 1, 2009.

The project is directed and led by Farm Foundation with financial assistance from the Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the United Egg Producers.