Chaordix Crowdsourcing Platform to Help Source Clean Energy Solutions for Farmers in Developing Countries

Calgary, Canada, June 13, 2012 --(PR.com)-- As the UN names 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, USAID's "Powering Agriculture" community invites innovative participants to get involved in devising solutions. Chaordix, the global standard in crowdsourced market intelligence, is pleased to announce its collaboration on a third USAID Grand Challenge initiative. Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development is a multi-year online campaign focused on discovering and promoting affordable, clean, renewable energy solutions for farmers and agribusinesses in developing countries. Powering Agriculture invites participants with an interest in helping to increase productivity along major components of the agricultural supply chain: (1) on-farm productivity, (2) cold storage; (3) transport; (4) post-harvest agriculture processing; and (5) agriculture waste for energy applications - to join in the Powering Agriculture community. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Duke Energy, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have come together to launch an online movement to create clean energy solutions intended to intensify the agriculture sector, enhance food security, and decouple food production from the use of fossil fuels. To help them reach these goals, the Chaordix Powering Agriculture crowdsourcing community will enable the stakeholders to connect innovative individuals and to provide them with an interactive forum to discuss, rank and develop solutions into actionable insights for USAID's Grand Challenge for Development grant processes in search of innovative solution providers. In partnership with DAI, Chaordix brings its Crowd Intelligence process and advanced technology platform to this program in order to connect a global community of innovators and gain insight and inspiration leading to new ideas and solutions. In 2050, there will be 9 billion people on our planet. In order to adequately feed that population, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the production of food will need to be increased by at least 70% while the amount of agricultural lands remain at current levels. Initial topics to be addressed in Powering Agriculture include the challenges that exist in accessing affordable, clean energy on farms and identifying existing solutions that might play a role in clean energy for farms and agricultural businesses. Questions seeking solutions will include: How will we feed humanity in a way that creates sustainable economic opportunity while limiting CO2 emissions? How can we help farmers and farm-related businesses access the energy that will allow them to grow more food and earn more money? Shelley Kuipers, Founder and CEO of Chaordix explains, "We understand the critical role clean energy plays in achieving a number of the UN's Millennium Development Goals and we are delighted to add our programs and methodology to this humanitarian initiative. Together we will find innovative and
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sustainable energy solutions to ensure farmers will have the tools they need to feed the world." We know that through crowdsourcing and engaging a wider number of participants we will increase the likelihood of finding innovative solutions," said Kristi Ragan, Chief of Party for DAI. Working with Chaordix we are continually expanding our methods for enabling a truly global community to focus and solve the global issues. About Chaordix Chaordix is the global standard in crowdsourced market intelligence. Chaordix uses the power of crowdsourcing to help the world's leading companies and organizations gain business insight and competitive advantage. Our Crowd Intelligence community solutions are helping clients such as E.ON, IBM, the US Government, Orange, P&G, and PwC leverage our unique crowdsourcing techniques and technology to drive market research, brand loyalty and innovation. Visit www.chaordix.com to find out more. About DAI DAI is a global consulting firm that provides social and economic development solutions to business, government, and civil society in developing and transitioning countries. Visit www.dai.com to find out more. About USAID The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For more information about USAID's programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov For further information, please contact Cynthia van Sundert at +1 403-263-2655 press@chaordix.com Chaordix and Crowd Intelligence are trademarks of Chaordix Inc.

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Contact Information: Chaordix Cynthia van Sundert 403-263-2655 Contact via Email www.chaordix.com

Online Version of Press Release: You can read the online version of this press release at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/419968

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