New York, 30 July 2024 — The IRC is launching a new crowdsolving challenge in partnership with Wazoku and SeaFreight Labs. The challenge is called “Reducing Fossil Fuel Dependency of Syrian Irrigation Systems” and will aim to bring about a more environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to water delivery systems across northeast Syria.
This latest challenge has an award pool of US$35,000 for proposed solutions to either power irrigation systems in a way that is more efficient in their use of fossil fuels or depend on renewable, clean sources of energy altogether. This search for solutions will focus more on solar-power based approaches or other, more efficient fixes that specifically reduce dependency on diesel-powered systems. These solutions will be primarily evaluated on their technical and economic feasibility, and there is added weight given to proposals that suggest innovative cost-sharing methods to make solutions more accessible.
Buffeted by more than a decade of conflict and the mounting toll of climate change, farmers in northeast Syria must contend with the challenges related to these crises alongside reduced seed quality and yield, severely strained and disrupted supply chains and minimal agricultural support from beyond their region. Faced with this array of obstacles, these farmers and the food systems they sustain are particularly vulnerable to skyrocketing fuel costs, particularly because their access to water is currently fully enmeshed with the cost of fossil fuels. Solutions that created ways for these farmers to access essential water supplies while being less or not at all reliant on expensive and polluting fossil fuels hold the potential to substantially improve life and economic efficiency in this region.
Farmer participating in the IRC project in Amouda, northeast Syria: “Every month, the price of fuel keeps increasing because we have severe shortages in this region. This year we were saved by the rains [consequently requiring less than the usual fuel amount for irrigation], but I am concerned that in the next year I will not be able to afford enough fuel for successfully irrigating my land.”
This Challenge officially launched on July 26th. Submissions will be accepted until 23:59 EDT on October 20th 2024.