Winner spotlight: Kheyti’s Kaushik Kappagantulu

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“There are 500 million small farmers around the world. They work hard all year long, but they are not able to have any control over their profits because of climate risks — and climate change is making the situation worse.”

It’s estimated that in India, over 100 million small farmers actually lose money every year from agriculture. That was the challenge that motivated Elevate Prize winner Kaushik Kappagantulu to co-found Kheyti.

Working in partnership with thousands of farmers, the organization created Greenhouse in a Box — and offered it to farmers at 10% of the cost. “It’s a small-sized greenhouse that protects crops from environmental risk,” says Kaushik. The greenhouse comes covered with insect netting and shading cloth, and has a drip irrigation system to help farmers grow seven times more food using just 1/50th of the water.”

In order to ensure farmers’ success, Kheyti also provides business and growing support. “We work with banks to help farmers get loans, we work with import companies to get farmers seeds and nutrients, and we work with market companies to help farmers sell their produce.”

The goal? To help people become climate-smart farmers.

“Our farmers earn on average $100 a month, which they can use to invest in healthcare, send their children to school, and live lives of dignity,” Kaushik says “Right now we’re helping 300 farmers, but we want to work with a million farmers. We want to drive a smart farming revolution. Together, we can make it happen!”

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