We rely on farmers and farmland to grow the crops we need to live. But a short- term mindset, land mismanagement and the compounding impacts of climate change have degraded the Earth’s soil.
Since 1750, burning fossil fuels has increased planet-warming CO2 in our atmosphere by 50%. At the same time, irresponsible farming practices and feeding a growing population have degraded our land and impacted its ability to store carbon, meaning there’s yet more carbon in the air. As more carbon enters the atmosphere, warming and aridification grow more vicious. The result: land unable to feed the world’s population, which continues to grow.
In 2017, Aadith Moorthy from Karnataka was passing through an Indian village when he came across a funeral procession mourning the death of a farmer who, left destitute after a crop failure, had taken his own life. This emotional moment sparked questions in Aadith’s mind. Could modern technology restore these lands and, in turn, improve the lives of its farmers?
Moorthy subsequently founded Boomitra to provide hope for struggling farmers the world over.
Boomitra, which means “friend of the earth” in Sanskrit, is a soil carbon marketplace that rewards farmers for sustainable land management practices.
The company works with more than 150,000 farmers, from half-acre smallholder farms to large ranchers, managing more than five million acres of land in some of the poorest parts of Africa, South America and Asia. Satellites and AI technology are used to monitor improvements farmers make to the soil, tracking its ability to store carbon over time.
In exchange, companies and governments looking to offset their emissions can purchase independently verified carbon credits from Boomitra’s marketplace, with the majority of the revenue from each credit going directly to the farmers and ranchers.
The world’s agricultural soils have the potential to store an additional five gigatons of CO2 per year – more than all the emissions from global car travel in a year. As Boomitra aims to scale their solution across the world, they have set a target to store one gigaton of CO2 in the soil by 2030.
Their strategy has huge transformative potential for climate change mitigation, but it is also a boon to the farmers themselves. The sustainable farming techniques restore soil health, increase crop yields and generate more revenue. Farmers also earn new, additional income from a 70% share in Boomitra’s profits.
By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030 we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air – at World Health Organization standard or better.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our oceans for future generations.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste, where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – just like they do in nature.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
We choose to fix the world’s climate by cutting out carbon: building a carbon neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
