Rith 2.0 Climate Summit Showcases Tech-Driven Innovations for Climate-Resilient Agriculture

Rith 2.0 drew stakeholders from across the globe to discuss scaling sustainability, the insights from early adopters, and leveraging technical assistance and grants to maximize agricultural impact

By Shruti Verma
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Rith 2.0 Climate Summit Showcases Tech-Driven Innovations

At the heart of the global battle against climate change, Arya.ag, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hosted Rith 2.0: Building Climate Resilience Together, recently in New Delhi. The summit brought together industry leaders, agrotech innovators, policymakers, and international experts to spotlight ground-breaking technological partnerships that are transforming the agricultural landscape in India and beyond.

As agriculture faces mounting pressures from climate change, Rith 2.0 served as a beacon of hope, offering practical solutions and partnerships designed to build resilience within farming communities. With a strong focus on harnessing technology to address sustainability challenges, the summit underscored the role of innovation in driving climate action across the agricultural sector.

Building Climate Resilience through Tech-Powered Partnerships

In his opening remarks, Anand Chandra, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Arya.ag, stressed the importance of a market-driven, inclusive approach to climate-resilient agriculture. Arya.ag’s success as India’s largest integrated grain commerce platform is rooted in this principle, combining innovation with collaboration to drive sustainable practices.

“In our experience building India’s largest and only profitable agritech company, we have learnt that it is impossible to make agriculture climate resilient unless we create a market-led model that benefits every stakeholder. This is also not possible unless all stakeholders come together and commit to doing their part in this direction, and that has been our philosophy behind Rith.” 

Chattanathan Devarajan, Co-Founder of Arya.ag, shared key outcomes from the inaugural summit, Rith 1.0, highlighting the pivotal role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in advancing climate action. Arya.ag’s PPP initiatives have reduced food loss by 7%, conserved 12 million litres of water, and saved 48,000 kg of fertiliser. These projects, undertaken with state governments in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, underscore the tangible impact of combining technological platforms with policy initiatives.

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“In the backdrop of Rith 1.0, we enabled Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models in collaboration with the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Assam to contribute to climate action. These initiatives have reduced food loss by 7%, enabled the conservation of 12 million litres of water, and saved 48,000 kgs of fertilisers.” 

Siddharth Chaturvedi, representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reinforced the need for adaptive solutions to address the climate crisis. He highlighted Arya’s proactive approach, stating, “The language of climate adaptation must evolve to view both producers and consumers as integral players in driving sustainability. Arya.ag has embraced this by embedding technology into its ethos.”

“Reflection and action are crucial, and gatherings like Rith are essential. Adaptation is constant and applies universally, especially in the context of climate change—it is at the core of Arya’s ethos. The language of adaptation must shift from beneficiaries to encompass business people who are both producers and consumers.”

Collaborative Innovation for a Sustainable Future

The summit spotlighted the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships. Mr. Raman Wadhwa, Director at the Ministry of Rural Development, highlighted collaboration as the key to achieving meaningful climate action.

“Collaboration is key to making our efforts more climate-resilient. No one can tackle this alone; we need multi stakeholder partnerships to drive climate action. The climate crisis is an urgent threat, and the economic cost will be enormous if we don’t act. However, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity.” 

Key industry leaders echoed this sentiment. Sangeeta Dawar from Bayer Crop Science stressed the need for substantial funding to accelerate large-scale agricultural transformation, pointing to a global survey in which 75% of farmers acknowledged the necessity of climate adaptation.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we all face today, and substantial funding is required to drive large-scale market transformation. According to a global survey of 2,000 farmers, 75% recognize the reality of climate change and agree that adaptation is necessary.” 

Subhadeep Sanyal from Omnivore stressed that failing to prioritize sustainability in agriculture will have dire economic consequences. His call for integrating economic sustainability with technological solutions further demonstrated how innovation can safeguard both farmers’ livelihoods and business interests.

“In agriculture, if we don’t prioritise sustainability in relation to nature, it will directly impact our assets and, consequently, the market. Economic sustainability is a key factor for us when evaluating investments, with our focus being on increasing farmers’ income and providing them better access to finance.” 

Smart Institutions and FPOs: The Future of Farming

Technology’s role in the transformation of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) into Smart Institutions was a key focus of the summit. Prasanna Rao, CEO and Co-Founder of Arya.ag, outlined the potential for FPOs to leverage technology to increase efficiency and promote sustainable farming practices. Arya.ag’s commitment to supporting FPOs in this evolution reflects the growing understanding that technology is central to the future of farming. The company’s work with FPOs is helping to ensure sustainable sourcing, efficient resource use, and enhanced farmer income—all while building resilience to climate shocks.

“We believe FPCs can evolve into Smart Institutions, which leverage technology to improve efficiency in input sales and output procurement and offer a diverse range of services. Smart FPCs will also play a crucial role in building climate-resilient value chains by promoting sustainable farming practices and through corporate collaborations to support sustainable sourcing of produce.”

Panel Discussions: Bridging Technology and Practical Realities

Three key panel discussions explored vital topics such as aligning corporate sustainability goals with ground realities, learning from early adopters of sustainable practices, and leveraging technical assistance to maximize impact. Moderated by industry veterans, the panels featured participants from organizations like Bayer, Olam, UNDP India, IFC, and Tata Trusts.

Panel Discussions and Key Takeaways

The summit featured three dynamic panel discussions, diving into:

  • Bridging corporate sustainability goals with ground realities,
  • Learning from early adopters of sustainable practices,
  • Maximizing impact through technical assistance.

These panels, moderated by industry experts, featured renowned organizations such as Bayer, Olam, LD, UNDP India, IFC, and Tata Trusts, and offered deep insights into how businesses can align their climate objectives with practical agricultural realities.

Key takeaways included:

  • The importance of aligning technological solutions with local farming practices and the need for greater corporate collaboration to ensure that sustainability goals are translated into on-the-ground realities.
  • The discussions provided actionable insights for stakeholders across the agricultural ecosystem, from policymakers to agrotech companies.

Looking Ahead: A Tech-Driven, Climate-Resilient Future

The resounding message of Rith 2.0 was clear: technology and partnerships are essential to achieving climate resilience in agriculture. As stakeholders from around the world came together to exchange ideas and forge new alliances, the summit served as a powerful reminder of the potential for innovation to create a more sustainable future.

In his closing remarks, Prasanna Rao emphasized the urgency of the climate crisis for the agricultural sector.

“Climate change poses significant challenges to the agricultural sector, and it is crucial that we come together to find practical solutions that can help build resilience in farming communities. Rith Summit 2.0 aimed to facilitate collaborations and knowledge sharing that can lead to the development and adoption of innovative technologies and practices for sustainable agriculture.”

With participation from farmers, agrobusinesses, policymakers, and development organizations, Rith 2.0 generated not only dialogue but also commitments to action. The technological innovations and partnerships showcased at the summit provide a roadmap for building a climate-resilient agricultural sector capable of overcoming the challenges of the future.

The future of farming is here, and it is driven by technology, collaboration, and a shared commitment to sustainability. Rith 2.0 stands as a testament to the power of innovation to create lasting change in the face of global climate challenges.

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