Nominations now open.
TerraCircle invites nominations for the TerraCircle Microgrant Awards 2026, recognising exceptional individuals and organisations working at grassroots level in Melanesia who are advancing locally led innovation, learning, and resilience in small-scale farming systems.
Nominations must be submitted via the Award Nomination Form by midnight, Tuesday 30 June 2026 (AEST).
About the TerraCircle Microgrant Awards
The TerraCircle Microgrant Awards are a prize-based award recognising outstanding local leadership and practice in three interrelated thematic areas that are critical to food security, resilience, and learning in Melanesia. These themes reflect areas where TerraCircle has worked alongside communities for more than two decades, and where genuine, locally led action is essential.
Agrobiodiversity
Agrobiodiversity is fundamental to food security, nutrition, and resilience, yet it is increasingly under threat globally. Melanesia is a centre of origin for crops such as taro, yams, breadfruit and bananas, and also holds rich diversity in forest food plants and introduced crops. This biodiversity underpins adaptive farming systems and dietary diversity. TerraCircle is seeking champions who are developing innovative, locally grounded approaches to protect, expand and enhance agrobiodiversity for climate-adapted agriculture.
Climate-adapted agriculture
Agriculture in Melanesia is under increasing pressure from climate change, which is exacerbating challenges such as declining soil fertility, increasing pest and disease pressure, and the loss of traditional knowledge. Climate-adapted agriculture is essential for sustaining small-scale farming livelihoods. TerraCircle seeks to recognise innovators developing practical, context-specific solutions that help farmers adapt to climate stress and strengthen long-term resilience.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning
Effective monitoring, evaluation and learning is critical for understanding what works and why, yet locally led MEL remains limited in many agricultural programmes in Melanesia. TerraCircle is particularly interested in recognising individuals and organisations who have undertaken field-based or institutional research, or developed practical MEL approaches, that demonstrate and communicate the relevance and effectiveness of agricultural initiatives, ideally linked to agrobiodiversity and climate-adapted agriculture.
Nature and value of the award
The TerraCircle Microgrant Awards are provided as an unrestricted prize, intended to recognise achievement and support recipients to continue, strengthen, or share their work in ways they consider most useful.
For the 2026 round, a total of AU$9,000, that would normally award 3 prizes, will be allocated at TerraCircle’s discretion. The number and value of individual awards will depend on the quality and range of nominations received.