Regenerative Agriculture Transforms Lives in India: A TechnoServe Field Visit
TechnoServe President and CEO Will Warshauer discusses his recent trip to India to see our entrepreneurship and agriculture work.
In January this year, I visited TechnoServe’s work in India and was enormously impressed. Our team there has grown in the last few years and is working on projects that advance our strategic plan in regenerative agriculture, food systems, and entrepreneurship.
Over only one week, I saw many different projects and met many of the clients they supported. I’m grateful to our team for organizing such an excellent visit, and I look forward to returning.
Regenerative Agriculture Benefits Farmers in India
In a village outside Nashik in Maharashtra state, I saw beautifully maintained soybean, corn, onion, grape, and pomegranate crops. These are grown by thousands of farmers working with TechnoServe on regenerative farming practices, a project funded by the Walmart Foundation.
These farmers are replacing chemical fertilizers and herbicides with natural, organic alternatives, which saves them money and improves their yields. Organic crops sell for higher prices, so farmers benefit from cost savings on inputs and income gains from better prices.
I met a couple who had been growing grapes for 15 years. The TechnoServe business advisor helped them access the export market, and they now receive twice the price for their grapes.
The project also focuses on supporting women to gain economically and to grow as leaders — especially in the farmer producer companies owned by the farmers. I particularly enjoyed speaking with women members and leaders at each farmer producer company we visited. I was eager to learn about the challenges they faced and their progress in taking on leadership positions.
Sustainable Growth in India’s Dairy Industry
Next, we visited work in the dairy sector, which showcases TechnoServe’s long-lasting impact across the value chain.
India is the world’s top producer of milk, even though most of it is produced on hundreds of thousands of small farms. Unfortunately, many of these small-scale dairy farmers live in poverty. India’s milk productivity per cow, for instance, is roughly 34% lower than the global average.
Ten years ago, we began a project with Abbott to improve profitability and productivity in the dairy sector. We worked with nearly 10,000 dairy farmers, training them on animal care and business skills, emphasizing women’s participation and leadership. We also worked to strengthen the local supply chain, helping local entrepreneurs manage cooling tanks and collect milk twice a day. This incentivized farmers to produce more, high-quality milk, creating a virtuous cycle of high prices and high production. Today, nearly 90% of farmers’ milk meets quality standards, vs. less than 30% at the project’s outset.
In Shrirampur, I met Ravindra and Jyoti Gatkal. Ten years ago, when they began working with TechnoServe, they had only three cows. Today, long after our work with them has ended, they have 35 cows.
Ravindra and Jyoti are among the many who have made enormous strides under this initiative. For every dollar spent to implement this program, farmers gained an average of $11.80 in additional revenue. That’s quite a return on investment!
We’re still working, and it was exciting to see the continued progress. Many bulk milk collection points and chilling stations are now high-tech and analyze milk quality in real time. Farmers are paid online as soon as they deposit their milk.
I also met the amazing ‘Samrudha Sakhis,’ community agents who promote digital and financial literacy among women farmers.
Already, the dairy farmers we’re working with have increased their incomes by an average of 55%.
Green Businesses for Economic and Environmental Success
On the final day of my visit, I met with entrepreneurs from our exciting Greenr business accelerator for environmentally focused businesses. One of the enterprises, TriNANO, has invented a coating that improves solar panels’ efficiency by ~10% and reduces water usage for cleaning by 55%. I was intrigued that they developed the technology by studying elements that occur in nature – like a self-cleaning element that draws from lotus leaves, which naturally repel water droplets and contaminants.
I then visited Organica Biotech, which has developed a way to use microbes instead of potentially harmful chemicals across a range of sectors. This biotechnology provides natural ways to improve crop and soil health and productivity; treat wastewater and improve hygiene; and break down solid waste into valuable resources like compost and biogas, among other applications.
These are just two of the hundreds of enterprises that have achieved revenue growth of 43%-69% over 12 months of working with us.
A Bright Future
These visits reflected just a few of TechnoServe’s initiatives to help build a more sustainable, prosperous future for so many people in India. I particularly enjoyed meeting many of our country staff who are working so hard to make that happen. They not only showed me the warmest hospitality but also demonstrated great talent and commitment to our clients.
With a vibrant, growing economy and a young and creative population, the sky is the limit for India!
