Press and News Photo with a story contest - Agrobiodiversity as roots of resilience
Agrobiodiversity - the variety of animals, plants, and microbes used for food and agriculture (FAO definition, 1999) is essential for food production, food security, and resilient food systems. Yet, it is difficult to capture: not only because it is dynamic and context-specific, but because data alone cannot tell the whole story.
Numbers alone can't capture the lived realities, knowledge systems, and relationships that shape agrobiodiversity on the ground. Its value is best understood when data is connected to people, landscapes, diets, and stories.
Hence, this global Photo With A Story Contest invites you to help bring agrobiodiversity to life - through images and narratives that reveal what it means in practice to the communities, farmers, practitioners and consumers who live it every day, farmers who cultivate it, the communities who depend on it, and the cultures that celebrate it.
The Initiative
This global Photo With A Story Contest is an initiative of the Agrobiodiversity Index team at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and glocolearning, and developed in collaboration with the Agroecology Coalition, Act4Food, The Netherlands Food Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, Wageningen University & Research, Dan Saladino, the Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems Coalition and The Great Full.
Winning stories will receive awards and are planned to be exhibited during Biodiversity COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia (19–30 October 2026), NFP World Food Day in The Hague, The Netherlands (20 October 2026), World Food Forum in Rome, Italy (8–16 October 2026), and potential other international and local platforms.
Awarded submissions may also be considered for publication in international media outlets.
Photo Credit: Doyogena (March 2025)
Who can participate
This contest is open worldwide to photographers of all levels, including farmers, practitioners, policy-makers, students, researchers, cooks, community members, and storytellers. Both amateur and professional contributors are welcome.
The Theme
This year’s theme is “Agrobiodiversity as roots of resilience in a changing world and geopolitical turmoil”. We are looking for stories that show how agrobiodiversity contributes to building resilience in food systems, landscapes, communities, and cultures.
Your photo story can explore resilience through:
- Biodiversity in production - diversity in soils, insects, crops, livestock, fish, farming systems, food production landscapes, and the connection with wild biodiversity
- Biodiversity in markets, trade and processing - how food biodiversity is marketed, traded, stored, or transformed
- Biodiversity in diets – food biodiversity, culinary traditions, food cultures
Possible narrative angles may include, but are not limited to:
- A story of adaptation in the face of environmental or social change
- A story about regeneration after crises, shocks or conflict
- A generational story passed from elders to youth through changing times
- A story of community collaboration or collective stewardship
- A story of culture, art, or heritage and how this connects with resilience
- A story about peace, coexistence, or connection to land
Supportive online storytelling training sessions
As part of the initiative, three public online storytelling training sessions, planned for July-August 2026, will be organised to support participants in telling compelling stories and developing their submissions. You can express your interest in these storytelling training sessions here.
Awards
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Jury Awards |
1st Award: €1500 + exhibitions |
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Honourable Mentions |
2 prizes of €250 + exhibitions |
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Public voting prize |
Public Award: €1000 + exhibitions |
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In addition, five additional stories will be selected for exhibitions. |
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Submission details
Your story may be submitted through this google form .
Deadline for submission: 31st of August 2026
Each submission must include:
1. Photos: upload 1 to 3 photographs that together tell a single story
- Images must be high resolution (minimum 3000 pixels on the longest side).
- Images can be horizontal or vertical in shape
- Accepted formats: JPEG or PNG.
- Photos should not contain digital manipulation. Basic adjustments (cropping, brightness, contrast, color balance) are acceptable.
Important note: Label your photographs using the following format: Photo Number (1-3) - Your Name (as you would like it to appear publicly) - Title of Story
2. List of captions: Provide a short caption (maximum 30 words) for each photograph, clearly numbered to match the image. (E.g., 1 - This land in Laikipia hosted the Yaaku community for centuries. 2 - A woman cooking a traditional dish for her family. 3 - ...)
3. Written story: Submit a written story of minimum 300 to maximum 600 words explaining the meaning and context of the images.
Eligibility
The contest is open worldwide for all ages. Any participants under 18 years old should submit with consent from a parent/guardian. Both professional and amateur photographers are welcome.
Note: Only one story may be submitted per photographer.
Anticipated Timeline
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Period |
Key Milestones |
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22 May 2026 |
Global launch of the contest (International Day for Biological Diversity) |
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31 August 2026 |
Deadline for photo and story submissions |
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15 September 2026 |
Announcement of shortlisted photo stories and start of public voting |
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25 September 2026 |
Deadline for public voting |
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1 October 2026 |
Announcement of winners |
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October 2026 |
Photo-story exhibitions |
Terms & conditions and ethical considerations
By submitting your works to the competition, you, the participant, consent to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.
This permits organizers and partners to share, adapt, and redistribute submitted materials in any medium, with appropriate attribution. Authors retain the right to further share or use their work independently.
All submissions must:
- Be original work of the participant
- Respect intellectual property rights
- Not include AI-generated images (which will be disqualified)
- Be produced ethically, with consent from all identifiable individuals
Each participant may submit only one story.
Judging criteria
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
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Relevance to the Theme: “Agrobiodiversity as roots of Resilience”
How clearly the story illustrates a role or contribution of agrobiodiversity in supporting resilient food systems, landscapes, communities, and cultures. -
Storytelling and Narrative: The ability of the photograph(s) and written story to work together in communicating a meaningful, compelling, and coherent narrative.
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Visual Impact: The overall quality, composition, creativity, and emotional resonance of the photograph(s).
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Originality and Perspective: A unique, thought-provoking, or insightful way of portraying agrobiodiversity.
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Authenticity and Context: How well the story reflects real-world experiences, practices, and relationships connected to agrobiodiversity.
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Changemaking Potential: The potential of the story to inspire reflection, dialogue, learning, or action among communities, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.
Judges will agree to a statement of no conflict of interest.
Judges' scores will not be shared with participants at any time. The entry receiving the highest aggregate scores will win the first place prize.
Winners will be required to provide identification and payment details within 72 hours of notification.
Local market. Many farmers tell us that using smart farming practices has allowed for them to sell the surplus crops and cash crops on the local market. Photo Credit: ©2015CIAT/ManonKoningstein
Partners
Funded by
Agrobiodiversity Index Food Planet Prize
Header Image: Woman farming in a diversified landscape in Laikipia, Kenya. Photo credit: Silvia Martinez (2024)
