Green Economy Accelerator project engages farmers to transform agriculture in India

Satya Tripathi, former assistant general secretary of U.N. Environment, wants to solve environmental challenges by “[changing] the way [people] live their lives… when you work with them directly.” His Green Economy Accelerator for a Just Transition (GREAT) is helping Indian smallholder farmers adopt greenhouse-based permaculture and has invested in fruit cultivation and anaerobic digesters.

GREAT is a project of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. Operating at the village level, its partners include: Kheyti, a “greenhouse-in-a-box” startup; reforestation charity SayTrees; rural development specialist Global Vikas Trust; and carbon offset company Sow and Reap. All have proven track records—Global Vikas Trust has planted 53 million trees with its 25,000 farmers and SayTrees has reduced over 1 million tons of carbon emissions using regenerative farming and clean energy.

“These are not people…at sea level,” Tripathi says. “They’re already at base camp…fully focused on what they want to achieve but they haven’t scaled.”

Tripathi believes the low-tech solution is superior to technologies such as direct air capture. By investing in farmers instead of buying carbon at high prices, carbon is sequestered through regenerative agriculture while soil health and nutrient density are restored—transforming the food system itself.

Source: Reuters

To view source article, visit: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/satya-tripathi-we-arent-here-fix-market-we-are-here-fix-planet-2025-01-02/

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