July 20: PepsiCo India, in collaboration with the^delta prize, launched the rapid re.gen challenge, a nationwide initiative designed to help smallholder farmers adopt regenerative agriculture through practical, scalable solutions that improve soil health, strengthen resilience, and enhance livelihoods. Backed by a prize fund of INR 6.5 crore, the challenge will support organisations working to make sustainable farming more viable and accessible for farmers across India.

Agriculture in India is increasingly facing challenges linked to declining soil health, rising input costs, and climate uncertainty. While regenerative agriculture offers a proven pathway to improve soil fertility, strengthen farm resilience, and support long-term productivity, many farmers continue to face barriers to adoption, including limited access to resources, technical support, and low-risk implementation models. The rapid re.gen challenge aims to address these gaps by identifying and supporting approaches that can deliver both environmental and economic benefits for farmers.

The challenge invites applications from non-profits, civil society organisations, and other partners working with farming communities. Selected organisations will work with smallholder farmers practising conventional agriculture to test, strengthen, and scale innovative, farmer-centric regenerative agriculture models that improve soil health while helping farmers sustain or increase their incomes. Through these efforts, the challenge aims to reach between 5,000 and 10,000 smallholder farmers across India. Areas of focus include farmer advisory services, natural resource management, agroforestry, efficient input use, market access, and other solutions that contribute to sustainable agricultural growth.

The initiative is a part of PepsiCo India's broader efforts to advance regenerative agriculture and support farming communities across the country. Through programmes focused on soil health, scientific farming practices, farmer capability building, and sustainable agriculture, PepsiCo India works with farmers to strengthen agricultural productivity and long-term resilience. Through the rapid re.gen challenge, the company aims to identify practical solutions that can help accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture across diverse farming regions in India.

Yashika Singh, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Sustainability Head, PepsiCo India and South Asia, said,

 “Healthy soil is the foundation of a healthy food system. As an agri-company at heart, we believe that caring for soil is not just an environmental priority but a way of supporting and enriching the lives of the farming communities we work with. At PepsiCo India, regenerative agriculture guides our approach to restoring soil fertility, strengthening water systems, and building long-term resilience in the fields that sustain us. For us, nurturing soil is ultimately about nurturing livelihoods. When the soil is healthy, entire farm ecosystems become stronger, and that is the direction in which we continue to move with our farming partners. Through the rapid re.gen challenge, we look forward to supporting organisations that are helping farmers adopt practical and scalable approaches to improve soil health while strengthening livelihoods.”

“For many smallholder farmers, the transition to regenerative agriculture remains difficult despite its long-term benefits. Farmers often face rising input costs, declining soil health, and increasing climate uncertainty, making it harder to take risks and experiment with new approaches. Through the rapid re.gen challenge, we hope to identify and support practical pathways that make this transition more viable for farmers while improving incomes and strengthening resilience,” said Kanishka Chatterjee, Managing Director, the^delta prize.

Guided by Eminent Advisors and Voices of Change

• Shri. Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa; Former CEO, NITI Aayog

• Shri. Manoj Ahuja, Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Government of India
• Shri. Hemendra Mathur, Founder, ThinkAg; Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund
• Dr. Ramanjaneyulu GV, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture

The challenge has been shaped through consultations with practitioners, researchers, implementation organisations, and ecosystem leaders. Participating organisations will receive grant funding and access to a network of advisors, mentors, researchers, and institutions that can help strengthen evidence, accelerate learning, and support the scaling of successful regenerative agriculture models.