: 5 Fascinating Enterprises at the Forefront of the Zero Food Waste Movement #IndiaNEWS #Environment This article has been sponsored by DBS Bank India For decades now, India has been grappling with

5 Fascinating Enterprises at the Forefront of the Zero Food Waste Movement #IndiaNEWS #Environment
This article has been sponsored by DBS Bank India

For decades now, India has been grappling with the issue of hunger and inadequate nutrition. Hence, it was no surprise when the Global Hunger Index, 2019, ranked India at 102 out of a list of 117 countries fighting hunger.
Economists and policymakers consider hunger an outcome of overpopulation and poverty. And while these are contributing factors, another culprit lurks in the form of dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate storage and overflowing dumpsters – the creation and improper treatment of food waste.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, almost 40% of the total food grown in India annually goes to waste. In other words, we waste close to half of what we produce. Wastage does not begin with tossing leftovers or scraps into the dustbin after a hearty meal. It is a complex, multifaceted concern that involves looking beyond households and restaurants, and into wastage at the very source of the supply chain.
From crop failure, to post-harvesting processes, storage, distribution, etc. , gaps need to be addressed to solve the problem of food wastage. The good news is that there are several purpose-driven companies working on future-forward solutions to this issue.
One such effort is led by DBS Bank India, which works with several companies and social enterprises to fight food wastage at the source. With the goal of doing more and better with less, here are a few organisations whose innovations are enabling a world with zero food-waste .
Kheyti Tech
Through its Greenhouse-in-a-Box (GIB) social innovation, a low-cost modular greenhouse, Kheyti helps farmers increase their yield and the predictability of the total production by a considerable margin.

GIB is designed to fit in small areas, which enables its use by even smallholder farmers. This greenhouse creates a favorable microclimate which reduces food spoilage due to extreme weather and other environmental risks. Further, it reduces pest attacks, which minimises crop damage and food wastage. All these features eventually help farmers grow seven times more food using 90% less water, as compared to cultivating in open fields.
As an example, Kheyti Tech shares how farmers have benefitted, especially in cucumber cultivation. Average yields increased to 3-8 tons in the greenhouse, as compared to an open field average of 430 kg on a 463 sq metre plot of land. This greenhouse helps farmers earn upto ?1,00,000 additional profit/year using just 1/10th acre of land and 2 hours of time/day. Today, 300 farmers in Telangana use Kheyti’s greenhouse. They plan to reach 3,000 farmers by the end of 2022.
DBS Foundations Social Enterprise Grant was instrumental in piloting our business model.

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