Here’s How This New York Competition Is Bringing More Underrepresented Voices To The Food And Agricultural Innovation Space

Grow-NY is a business competition focused on building a lasting food and agriculture innovation cluster in the Grow-NY region. Around 33,438 farms, or 40% of the state’s farms, are located in the Grow-NY region, including Binghamton, Ithaca, Rochester, and Syracuse.

The competition attracts “innovative, high-growth food and agriculture startups from around the world and involves them in the region’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem.” Those who make it to the finals pitch their business ideas for a chance to win up to one million dollars. 

Grow-NY aims to amplify the voices of women and underrepresented individuals in the food and agricultural technology (agtech) innovation space. Through its business competition and summit, the organization aims to foster a more sustainable future. 

“When you consider that only 1% of venture capital is invested in startups with Black founders, you understand the need for access to alternative sources of funding,” Grow-NY Program Director Jenn Smith told ESSENCE.

“We work to share Grow-NY with communities that have been left out of the innovation economy by influencing the influencers – in this context, that means through outreach and conversation with organizations like The National Gem Consortium – and by educating our judges with anti-bias training materials shared by Black Ambition,” Smith continued. “As a result, we’ve seen a steady uptick of minority-led applications and finalists year over year.”

This competition and summit are attempting to combat the disparity in the agricultural space, which has been steadily increasing over the years. According to a Congressional Research Service report, “between 1900 and 2017, the percent of all U.S. farmers who identify as White increased from 87% to 96%. Meanwhile, the proportion of Black farmers declined from 13% of farmers in 1900 to 1.4% in 2017.”

This is the sixth year the startup competition has taken place. Last year, “61% of the 323 applicants included a founder from an underrepresented minority group, and 42% included a female founder.”

Applications for this year’s Grow-NY competition close on May 15 and 20 finalists will be selected in August. Winners will be selected at the Summit, which will be held in early November in Ithaca, NY.

The Empire State Development administers funding for the program, which is administered by Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement. In a press release, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Benjamin Z. Houlton stated: “Cornell University is proud to partner with Grow-NY to advance science-based solutions that support climate sustainability, agri-food systems, and economic growth in our region and beyond. As New York’s Land-Grant institution, we’re dedicated to sharing knowledge and empowering innovators whose vision supports a circular bio-economy that can bring new sources of revenue to our exceptional growers, producers, and communities.”