Nidhi Pant

Nidhi Pant - Indian, Asia and the Pacific

2020 Winner | Chemical technologist | Indian

Small holder (SH) farmers, comprising 80% of India’s farming community and some of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts, lose crops worth approximately US$ 19.4 mn ( ~ 40% in the entire supply chain) on a daily basis due to post-harvest losses caused by lack of infrastructure for storage, limited technical know-how on good agricultural practices, inadequate markets and poor logistics. S4S deploys Solar Conduction Dryers (SCD) to SH farmers to process fruits and vegetables and buys back processed produce from them. Our SCD is an electricity-free solar-powered food dehydrator that reduces moisture content in agro-produce so that farmers can preserve their produce for up to 1 year without using any chemicals, thereby preventing significant food waste, contributing to overcoming malnutrition and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. S4S trains landless female farmers to become agri-entrepreneurs, equipping them with the right combination of training, technology, access to finance, and market linkages. S4S is currently working with over 3000 farmers and has 270 installations in 3 states to date. Dehydrated S4S products made by the farmers, are serving over 700 food industry clients like Sodexo, Marico, Indian Railways, Capital Foods, Nestle, Unilever and others and is supported by the Government of India.

Nidhi is Co-Founder of Science For Society - S4S Technologies and holds a bachelor's in chemical technology from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. Born in the Himalayas into a family of farmers and raised in Bombay, by scientist parents, who believe - we rise only by lifting others - Nidhi has been actively involved in building communities affected by natural disasters, including her own. Traveling between villages and cities - Nidhi recognised the dichotomy of hunger at one end and food wastage at other - resulting in her passion for finding sustainable solution to food losses, along with alleviating the most vulnerable communities of female farmers by democratizing technological innovations. Nidhi is a winner in the Women Transforming India Awards; she has been listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019; winner of Unilever Young Entrepreneur Award 2019 and was 'Emerging Innovator of the Year' at the inaugural edition of Economic Times Women Leadership Awards.

Disclaimer: NOTE: This content was shared online for the 2019 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth programme and has not been updated. This listing does not constitute any endorsement by nor status with the UN Environment Programme.

Winners by Category

Winners by Year