Modern agriculture to solve poverty equation

With growing world population pressures and water demands, The C14 Foundation aims to equip and train poor farmers with new and modern methods to produce safe, consistent, high-quality food throughout the entire year. Two important techniques for ensuring sustainability are proving to be hydroponics and aquaponics: growing plants without soil. These techniques may hold the key to self-supportable food production systems for our entire planet in the future.

What we know:

 

• • Today, soil is the dominant growing medium for farming, but it’s not sustainable to feed the planet’s billions of people

• • Over-cultivation (farming the same crops over and over again on the same spot and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides) has depleted much of the world’s farmland of nutrients

• • The agricultural workforce is shrinking as fewer young people across the world choose farming as a vocation

• • Currently 70% of the world’s fresh water supply is used for agriculture, and a growing population puts pressure on world resources, including fresh water needed for farming.

• • Most of today’s poorest of the poor are farmers.

• • THE OECD predicts that nearly half of the world’s population will live under “water stress” with uncertain water access*

Because of these issues and more, there is a high and urgent mandate to educate poor farmers on modern agriculture techniques.

*Reference: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030.” OECD. Accessed 7 Feb. 2019. www.oecd.org/environment/indicators-modelling-outlooks/40200582.pdf

Soilless agriculture promises to play a growing role in self-sustainability

 

• • Taking plants out of soil may hold the key to sustainable food production systems

• • Protected and automated greenhouses can deliver higher yields per unit area (10X)

• • Soilless agriculture requires a smaller cultivation footprint (plants can grow vertically)

• • Hydroponics and aquaponics isolate plants from soil-borne pests and diseases

• • Soilless agriculture reduces water and nutrient stress on plants

 

INTRODUCING:
C14 SOCIAL PROJECTS FOUNDATION

India has experienced a very large population boom since 1950 topping more than 1.4 billion, and is poised to become the world’s most populous country in 2024. And its population is projected to crest 1.5 billion by 2030. More importantly, India is home to the world’s largest population of the poorest of the poor. In fact, 60% of the the population in India are poor farmers, who typically rent small plots of land and grow their crops in open fields. The statistics are well known: a third of global arable soils are degraded with 25% severely degraded. With the onset of climate change and water resource scarcity and ever growing demand for food sources, these poor farmers will truly suffer to maintain their livelihood, and in addition, be unable to sustain a adequate food production to the community.

Hydroponics, which is a sustainable farming method that involves growing plants without water using nutrient rich water, may hold the answer. The system offers several benefits including increased crop yield and resource efficiency and may help minimize land degradation reducing the need for pesticides and herbicides and has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional farming methods. But modernization requires both financial and training resources and infrastructure.

In an effort to execute our mission vision and set up a footprint in India, the C14 Social Projects Foundation was incorporated on January 22, 2024, as non profit Section 8 company under the laws of India:

CIN (Corporate Identification number): U88900PN2024NPL227492

Registered office address: 759/116 Sunder villa, 4 floor, Prabhat Road Lane 2, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune City, Pune- 411004, Maharashtra 

The C14 Social Project Foundation intends to build out demonstration hydroponics and greenhouse facilities and infrastructure in which to teach and train poor farmers in India about state-of-the-art agriculture techniques. It will create reliable, sustainable, and stand-alone power and water sources for these facilities. And, the C14 Social Projects Foundation will form a network and provide a vehicle so farmers may sell hydroponically grown foods on the world stage.

Working with key experts in the area including our partner, Future Farms of India, we intend to make a difference for the poorest of the poor to help them jump over major hurdles to entry to higher success and better chance of survival. Future Farms (based in Chennai) has developed effective and accessible farming kits to facilitate hydroponics. The company develops indigenous systems and solutions, made from premium, food-grade materials that are efficient and affordable for Indian growers.

Martina Tamaro is pictured with Sriram Gopal, Founder of Future Farms of India. Hydroponics demo located on a rooftop in Chennai, India