Kaushik Kappagantulu’s Greenhouse in a Box Is Aiding India’s Farmers
Farmers using Kheyti’s structures have significantly reduced their crop losses while using two-thirds less water and fertilizer.
Kaushik Kappagantulu, the son of a single mother who raised eight children in Hyderabad, India, learned the value of hard work from his grandmother. After pursuing an engineering degree and volunteering with homeless children, he realized that despite their efforts, many rural Indian farmers struggled to succeed. Determined to help, Kappagantulu spent six years assisting school dropouts from farming families through vocational training. This experience led him to pivot his focus to agriculture.
In 2015, Kappagantulu founded Kheyti, an agri-tech enterprise aimed at assisting India's 100 million smallholder farmers. Climate change poses a significant threat to these farmers, with extreme heat, unseasonable rain, and depleting groundwater making farming difficult, especially during the summer months from March to June. To combat these challenges, Kheyti introduced a low-cost modular "greenhouse-in-a-box" that is tailored to one-acre farms.
These greenhouses feature shade cloth to reduce internal temperatures by around 9 degrees Fahrenheit and drip irrigation systems.
The greenhouses paired with an AI-powered tool provide farmers with advice on crop selection, pest management, and other crucial aspects. This innovative approach has proven effective, with farmers experiencing a 58% reduction in crop losses. Additionally, these greenhouses require 67% less water and 70% less fertilizer. Furthermore, the farmers who utilize Kheyti's structures see a threefold increase in net income compared to non-Kheyti farmers on the same land area.
With the support of local governments and affordable subsidies, each greenhouse costs between $200 to $300.
Kheyti's greenhouses have been successful in eight Indian states, working with approximately 7,000 farmers. The company aims to double this number within the next twelve months with the assistance of the Indian government, which has encouraged state partnerships. Kappagantulu envisions expanding the greenhouses globally in the next three years, having identified a pipeline of other products, including flexible solar panels that can be installed atop the greenhouses.
His ultimate goal is to provide one million farmers with secure, climate-smart livelihoods by 2033. However, Kappagantulu acknowledges that achieving this vision requires collaboration among various stakeholders, as "long-term change in the climate sector for agriculture doesn't happen through one solution or one organization, but through forming coalitions."
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
