Sugarcane cultivation in India reached close to 32 million tons in 2018 alone. The environmental and social challenges of the industry are prominent. They are becoming even more critical as the price of sugar collapses, against a backdrop of overproduction, what with factories failing to pay producers.
Our experts at Ksapa worked with strategic partners to develop a digital training project. The goal ? Build up the capacity and resilience of sugarcane farmers in the Barabanki and Lucknow districts.
The project aimed to foster climate action by helping smallholder plots qualify for carbon credits. It would also address land degradation, water reserves and food insecurity in the process.
This involved implementing long-term improvements in agricultural value chains and livelihoods for smallholder farmers in India. Here are three ways our experts explored:
- Improving sugarcane productivity and lowering annual production costs;
- Encouraging crop diversification, circularity, carbon valuation in order to improve smallholders’ environmental footprint;
- Positively impacting the social dynamics across sugarcane-producing communities by fostering a greater collective recognition of human rights and affecting the inclusion of youths and women in related economic activities.
The program was launched through a blended finance mechanism. This notably included the creation of a special vehicle combining private sector investments, concessional loans and grants.
Our expert took an active part in aligning the various sets of expertise from partnering industrial players, business coalitions, non-profits and IT through a pilot project. That way, we trained 100 sugarcane farmers in the field, with a documented positive impact for 500 additional supply chain workers.
RESULTS & NEXT STEPS
The piloted was conducted over the course of years. That said, it was an integral part of a longer-term projection of the program ultimately intended to reach 100,000 beneficiaries within 10 years.