Land Accelerator South Asia 2021 Business Leaders Restoring Farms and Forests

The Land Accelerator South Asia program, launched by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 2020, supports entrepreneurs developing business models to restore degraded lands. The 2021 cohort grew to 58 entrepreneurs, with women's participation increasing from 13% in 2020 to 31% in 2021. The program provides mentorship, grants, and connections to impact investors to scale solutions in sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and agritech. This booklet highlights eleven specific startups, detailing their technological solutions—such as AI-based weeding robots, drone-based precision agriculture, and bio-economic waste conversion—and their reported socio-economic and environmental impacts, including increased farmer incomes and carbon sequestration.

• The Land Accelerator South Asia program expanded significantly between its first and second years, growing from 15 restoration businesses in 2020 to 58 entrepreneurs in 2021.
• There was a notable increase in the participation of women entrepreneurs in the program, rising from approximately 13 percent in 2020 to 31 percent in 2021.
• The program targets the restoration of over 100 million hectares of land in India, which has the potential to sequester between 3 and 4.3 gigatons of above-ground carbon by 2040.
• Case studies demonstrate the use of precision agriculture and agritech to reduce chemical use; for example, GR Agritek Labs reports a 25 percent reduction in chemical pesticides through the use of intelligent drones.
• Several startups focus on the circular bio-economy by converting agricultural and forest waste into value-added products, such as Fermentech Labs transforming pine needles and invasive weeds into enzymes.
• Restoration businesses are reporting significant socio-economic gains for smallholder farmers, such as InDev Solutions enabling an average annual income increase of INR 40,000 per farmer through market linkages.
• The program emphasizes a 'PPP approach' that integrates people, planet, and profit to create sustainable livelihoods for marginalized groups, including indigenous communities and forest dwellers.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Land Accelerator South Asia 2021 Business Leaders Restoring Farms and Forests. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-10/land-accelerator-business-leaders-restoration-booklet-2022.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Land Accelerator South Asia 2021 Business Leaders Restoring Farms and Forests. 2021. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-10/land-accelerator-business-leaders-restoration-booklet-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Land Accelerator South Asia 2021 Business Leaders Restoring Farms and Forests |date=2021 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-10/land-accelerator-business-leaders-restoration-booklet-2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021land, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Land Accelerator South Asia 2021 Business Leaders Restoring Farms and Forests}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-10/land-accelerator-business-leaders-restoration-booklet-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }