Khethworks

khethworks.com

Khethworks builds reliable, solar-powered irrigation systems that enable small-plot farmers to cultivate year-round. There are over 30 million farmers who tend to an acre or less of land in East India, where 60 percent of renewable groundwater is unused and agriculture-grade electricity is patchy. In a country that in six years will be the most populous on Earth, the opportunity is great and the need dire for agricultural productivity to increase. Viable irrigation options for 85 percent of Indian farmers – the small-plot farmers – are key. The Khethworks product provides an alternative to dependence on inconsistent monsoon rains and costly fuel pumping. For over 2 years, Khethworks has been working with livelihoods organizations and farmers in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha to deploy and test pilot systems that have led to increased income, rental transactions, and first-ever summer season harvests. Khethworks started at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and developed it.