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Could a phone app be the answer to the food security crisis?

23 October 2019
Dean’s prize winner proposes radical response to shortages
A smartphone app may be the solution to food shortages and malnutrition caused by economic upheaval, conflict and climate change, according to a University of Sydney Business School MBA alum.

Kelly McJannett (MBA '18) writes about the app in this year's winning entry in the Dean's Prize essay competition.

The app, Kelly says, would deliver localised, icon-based tools to educate communities in how to grow their own food and connect them to a global network of like-minded people as well as horticulture, aquaponic and hydroponic experts.

"Real-time data and predictive analytics would be utilised to advise users on weather patterns and upcoming environmental threats," writes Kelly. 

kelly-mcjannett

Kelly McJannett, CEO of Food Ladder

"Seasonal harvest rotations could also be developed in collaboration with neighbouring communities."

Kelly is the CEO of Food Ladder, a not-for-profit organisation which uses commercial techniques to provide food security, employment, training, and ultimately economic self-sufficiency for some of the world's most disadvantaged communities.

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