This abstract highlights the transformative journey of Lakshmi Devi, a farmer-turned-entrepreneur in Nandgaon, Uttarakhand, facilitated by the Mount Valley Development Association (MVDA). It emphasizes the impact of MVDA’s Farming Innovation for Women Empowerment (FIWE) project in rural development.

Through qualitative analysis, the narrative demonstrates how MVDA’s initiatives, such as women's groups, skill development, and access to government schemes like ATMA, empowered Lakshmi Devi, enabling her transition from a landless farmer to a successful entrepreneur.

The United Nations predicts that we need to increase food production globally by 70 percent to feed 9.6 billion people by 2050. But at the same time, given the climate crisis, we need to significantly reduce the use of energy, water, and land needed to produce food and lower its carbon footprint. In other words, we must figure out how to produce and distribute more food using fewer resources and emissions. We must learn to do farming better with less.

India's smallholding farmers face significant challenges. They struggle with erratic weather and the impacts of climate change, pest infestations, and declining yields. Financially constrained, many are trapped by high-interest loans from local lenders. Post-harvest, issues such as crop wastage, logistics, and market access can add their troubles, with up to 40 percent of produce lost. Market fluctuations and the inability to meet quality standards further exacerbate their struggles.

The “Green Innovation Centres for the agriculture and food sector” (GIC) project, implemented by the GIZ, aims to enhance the agricultural value chains in various countries by promoting sustainable practices and innovations. The “Atingi”-platform, which was created as part of the project, can be seen as a knowledge hub that provides access to the various knowledge outputs of the initiative.

In India, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are considered as the most preferred institutional mechanism for enhancing productivity and income of farmers. This is based on the resounding success of a few farmer collectives that have aggregated their produce to realise better incomes. However, when efforts were made to scale up this interesting model across the country, several challenges emerged.

Holding a vision of Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), and with a target of net-zero carbon emission by 2070, India plans to usher in a green industrial and economic transition through a movement with an environmentally conscious lifestyle. One of the credible options for a continuous, predictable, accessible and cost-free green energy source is solar power. In the agricultural sector, one of the key innovations in promoting solar irrigation was the initiation of the world's first ever Solar Cooperative - Dhundi Solar Energy Producers' Cooperative Society (DSEPCS) - in Gujarat, India.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development cooperation (BMZ) commissioned the Global Project “Green Innovation Centers for the Food and Agriculture Sector” (GIC) to intensify measures to combat Post Harvest Losses (PHL). In this context, a study on the economic sustainability of post-harvest investments has been conducted in June 2023. The objective of this study is to provide an objective and economically differentiated analysis of investments targeting PHL in the selected partner countries.