Janani Regenerative Marketplace & UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Adya Siddarth & Usha Devi Venkatachalam
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 are a comprehensive set of goals designed to serve as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Its impact lies in how collectively and synergistically all of us — individuals, communities, and institutions — work towards meeting the 17 goals and targets. The SDGs are an invitation to organisations and businesses across the globe to take collective and concrete action towards sustainable and inclusive development. It is also an opportunity to make sustainability the heart of business models and strategies, and thereby evolve the next era of responsible enterprises. As the SDGs step into the decade of action, Janani is entering its Growth Stage. It is the right time for us to revisit our business model and re-align our strategies and efforts with SDGs and specific targets. Through this exercise we hope to reinvigorate Janani’s vision and the impact we are striving to create in the agriculture ecosystem.
Extractive agriculture is exhausting the soil, leaving the entire food ecosystem teetering extinction. Regenerative farming can create a virtuous cycle between soil, water, farm and food. Janani provides a tech-enabled marketplace with economic incentives for food systems to transition to regenerative agroecology. Our vision is for a world of regenerative agroecology that nourishes farmers, companies, consumers & the planet.
As a first step we familiarised ourselves with the SDGs and targets. Following sections outline our business model and the specific goals where we see alignment with the SDGs.
No Poverty (SDG 1)
As a for-profit enterprise, one of our primary goals is to create an enabling environment for profitable & regenerative agriculture particularly for small farmers. The Janani ecosystem enables small farmers to convert to regenerative agriculture and integrate them into global value chains and thus create prosperous rural households, aligning with SDG 1: No Poverty. Janani’s goal is prosperity for all stakeholders in the food system value chain. This is an integral part of our business model, especially for the traditionally under-represented parts of the chain — small farmers and natural resources.
Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
Through regenerative agriculture our commitment lies in improving agricultural productivity, restoring the nutritive value of the soil and the crops grown, and creating sustainable and localized food systems towards meeting SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Local and seasonal food systems can directly benefit producers and consumers within geographical regions. They could create thriving regional economies where local communities can easily access healthy produce directly from food growers. This is a key strategy towards meeting the food needs of particularly the poor and vulnerable populations.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an opportunity to make sustainability the heart of business models and strategies, and thereby evolve the next era of responsible enterprises.
Gender Equality (SDG 5)
Women are critical partners in agricultural households. In traditional food systems that were decentralized and distributed, women performed vital labor on the farm and in post-harvest processing. More importantly, as seed savers and propagators, they were the guardians of biodiversity. Gender Equality (SDG 5) is an integral component on the farm. However, their participation has mostly been pushed out of limelight and their essential ecological role has been compromised in the name of convenience and higher yields. Janani is a network for agricultural households. Our impact at the household level requires full participation from women farmers. Even more importantly, our agroecological goals cannot be achieved without women farmers as key ecosystem orchestrators.
Climate Action (SDG 13)
A healthy soil is also the first step towards achieving a ‘profitable and regenerative agriculture’, which is Janani’s mission and goal for the farming community. We strongly believe in the regenerative power of soil and its ability to save us from the climate change crisis prevalent today. Those who hold the key to that incredible resource are the farmers in developing countries such as India where small land holding means that many million hands can drastically change the carbon equation for the better, in a short span of time. This decentralized approach has the potential to be the most efficient, low-cost and low-tech way to address SDG 13: Climate Action.
Life on Land (SDG 15)
We have consciously adopted the approach of ‘Regenerative Agroecology’ (the application of ecological principles to agriculture systems and practices) and its potential to transform our lands for SDG 15: Life on Land where farmers become stewards of natural resources, actively protecting soil, water, flora, and fauna within their communities.
How do these overarching goals translate into business strategy, activities, and metrics (financial, environmental, and impact)? We will elaborate that in Part 2: Translating UN SDGs into Janani’s Business Activities.
About the Authors:
Adya Siddarth has a background in information technology, urban studies, social & environmental policy, and leadership development. She is a Transformational Leadership Practitioner Coach & Facilitator. She works on solving problems in society using inter-disciplinary approaches to create impact and generate measurable results for the wellbeing of people and the planet.
Usha Devi Venkatachalam is founder & CEO of Krishi Janani. She is a technologist who has implemented software solutions and conducted capacity building trainings in over 20 countries. Her expertise and passion are in architecting sustainable, culture-specific, and locally-appropriate technology solutions in resource constrained environments.
