FFAR & FoodShot Global Announce GroundBreaker Prize Winners in Water Research

Protecting water as an essential limited resource for aquatic and land-based food and agriculture is one of the most critical challenges we face. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and FoodShot Global are proud to announce the recipients of the GroundBreaker Prize, which recognizes awardees’ efforts to create a food system that is healthier, more sustainable and more equitable. FFAR and FoodShot Global are honoring the awardees for their pioneering work in this year’s theme, Water, The Essential Input. Builders Initiative and The Rockefeller Foundation provided matching funds for a total prize amount of $480,000.

This year’s GroundBreaker Prize awardees are:

• Dr. Laura Condon, associate professor at the University of Arizona and president and CEO at Hydro Futures, received $250,000 in recognition of her groundbreaking tools for forecasting groundwater and soil moisture. Her team developed the only national platform that simulates watershed dynamics from bedrock to treetops across the United States, providing producers with cost-effective predictions and improving irrigation and crop choices at only a fraction of the cost of traditional models. With the support of the GroundBreaker Prize, Dr. Condon aims to develop new capabilities to evaluate irrigation and crop scenarios and accelerate the commercial adoption of these innovative tools.
• Dr. Daniel Russek, CEO of Atarraya, received $150,000 for his transformative Shrimpbox technology, which reduces water usage by over 98% compared to traditional methods and eliminates discharges. This innovation will play a major role in promoting efficient water management and mitigating the environmental impact of shrimp production. Atarraya will match the funds to assess the effectiveness of biofertilizers from sustainable aquaculture on soil health and plant growth. Dr. Russek’s initiative integrates regenerative agriculture with sustainable aquaculture by enhancing soil health and crop productivity at Atarraya’s Smart Biotech shrimp farm in Oaxaca, Mexico, and providing a scalable model for global adaptation.
• Alexandra Pounds, action research lead at ThinkAqua, received $80,000 to expand the Resilient Aquaculture Designs (RAD) initiative in Uganda and Kenya. RAD creates networked clusters around locally owned hubs that provide farmers with market access, inputs and technical support. The initiative addresses smallholder farmers’ needs by ensuring a ready market for tilapia, producing high-quality seed fish and reducing production costs by using fish feed from Black Soldier Fly larvae, which also serve as organic fertilizer. Proven in western Uganda, this circular economy approach boosts productivity, diversifies livelihoods and improves nutrition, with plans to scale across East Africa and beyond.

More information about these GroundBreakers and FoodShot Global is available at www.foodshot.org.

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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.

Connect: @FoundationFAR 

About FoodShot Global

Headquartered in New York City, FoodShot Global is a non-profit investment platform that unites an international consortium of venture funds, banks, corporations, universities, and foundations to catalyze the success of global, transformative solutions to critical food and agriculture challenges. Each cycle, FoodShot Global identifies the most pressing obstacles to creating healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems around the world. The FoodShot Global network provides winning entrepreneurs and researchers with industry expertise, investment, and other resources to support science and technology development, address commercialization and scale-up needs, and maximize the impact of innovative solutions.

FoodShot partners include Rabobank’s F&A Innovation Fund, Generation Investment Management, Mars Inc., UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Builders Initiative, Novo Holdings, Cornucopian Capital, Agri-Futures, CSIRO, Armonia, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, The Yield Lab Institute, The Yield Lab Europe, Acre Ventures, Bits x Bites, Peakbridge Ventures, The Livability Challenge, Wageningen University and Research, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, The Nature Conservancy, The Grantham Foundation, Davis Wright Tremaine, The Soil Health Institute, Mista, and The Shakeup Factory. For more information, please visit www.foodshot.org.