SEKEM wins prestigious award for their work on biodynamic farming

Farms4Climate partner SEKEM is one of the three winners of the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity for helping local farmers transition from traditional to biodynamic farming while supporting rural development. The Jury of experts was presided over by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Farms4Climate partner SEKEM, and in particular its flagship initiative the Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA), has recently received the prestigious 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, in recognition of their significant contributions to global food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem protection. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from Portugal praised the organisation's efforts in helping local farmers working along the Nile and in desert regions of Egypt transition from traditional to biodynamic farming while supporting rural development through their Economy of Love certification standard and carbon credits.

The prize funding of one million euros will be split equally between SEKEM and two co-winners to help continue and scale their work for more secure and sustainable food systems. Alongside SEKEM, the other winners were Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), a state-wide program from India supporting smallholder farmers, predominantly women, in switching to natural farming, and Rattan Lal (USA/India), a scientist who pioneered a soil-centric approach to agriculture.

The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, which was first awarded in 2020 and had Greta Thunberg and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) among others as previous winners, received a record number of 181 nominations in 2024, with nominees from 117 nationalities. The independent Jury of experts, this year chaired by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, congratulated the winners for providing hope and acting as a source of inspiration for others across the world.

Helmy Abouleish, CEO of SEKEM Group, commented: "It felt wonderful to win this prize and to feel recognized for the work we do. This will help us to really offer agriculture as part of the solution to climate change in Egypt, in the region, and everywhere in the world. We can sequester tons and tons of CO₂ in our soils. We have a solution to mitigate climate change, but at the same time, it's not yet mainstream. It's a small niche that needs to be scaled up."