Responsible Land Procurement for Renewable Energy
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About the Project
Maize has emerged as a strategically important crop in India, transitioning rapidly from a food crop to a key industrial commodity linked to poultry feed, starch industries and ethanol production. However, the maize value chain continues to remain fragmented and vulnerable to unstable market prices, weak post-harvest infrastructure, inconsistent quality standards, liquidity constraints, and limited institutional capacity among smallholder farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
In response to these challenges, Godrej Agrovet Limited (GAVL), under the Good & Green sustainability framework, partnered with Landstack and IIM Ahmedabad to explore pathways for developing a sustainable, fair, and inclusive maize sourcing ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh. The project seeks to strengthen linkages between farmers, FPOs, aggregators, institutional buyers, finance institutions and ecosystem actors through a partnership-driven model.
The initiative combines field-based supply chain mapping, stakeholder consultations, institutional assessments and ecosystem workshops to identify systemic bottlenecks and build scalable solutions around aggregation, storage, finance, quality systems, governance, and inclusive sourcing. The larger vision is to create a resilient maize sourcing ecosystem that ensures fair price discovery for farmers while improving sourcing stability, traceability, and sustainability for institutional buyers.
Objectives and goals
Understand the maize supply chain from the perspective of ground stakeholders in Madhya Pradesh.
Identify structural bottlenecks around aggregation, logistics, storage, finance, and market access.
Build a partnership ecosystem involving FPOs, BSOs, buyers, financial institutions, and government stakeholders.
Develop fair and sustainable sourcing models aligned with Quality, Quantity, Price, and Timing (QQPT) standards.
Strengthen institutional capacities of FPOs and aggregation systems for scalable procurement.
Promote inclusive sourcing models that support women farmers, tenant farmers, and smallholders.
Methodology
The project combines secondary research, field-based assessments, stakeholder consultations, institutional mapping, and ecosystem workshops to understand the maize value chain in Madhya Pradesh. The study involved interactions with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Business Support Organisations (BSOs), aggregators, maize mills, government officials, input dealers, and farming communities across key maize-producing districts. Multiple aggregation and market linkage models were studied to assess issues related to storage, quality, logistics, finance, and pricing.
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The methodology also included ecosystem workshops with agribusinesses, financial institutions, NGOs, government representatives, and academic institutions to identify systemic bottlenecks and collaborative pathways for sustainable maize sourcing. The overall approach was designed to combine field realities with institutional and market perspectives in order to build a scalable and partnership-driven sourcing ecosystem.
Focus area
Sustainable and fair maize sourcing
FPO strengthening and aggregation systems
Storage, logistics, and post-harvest infrastructure
Working capital and blended finance mechanisms
Inclusive sourcing and land visibility
Market linkage and institutional partnerships
Outputs / Deliverables
Maize Supply Chain Mapping Report – Madhya Pradesh
Internal Comprehensive Report on Maize Value Chain
Stakeholder and institutional ecosystem mapping
Workshop Report on Sustainable Procurement of Maize
Strategic recommendations for sustainable sourcing ecosystem
Field-level documentation of FPO aggregation and market models
Team Members
Jamie Lane
Position / Role
Alex Smith
Position / Role
Charlie McMann
Position / Role
Max Johnson
Position / Role
About
The study on Responsible Land Procurement for Renewable Energy aims to establish a socially inclusive and legally robust framework for land transactions in the renewable energy (RE) sector. National ambitions indicate that 5 to 6 percent of India’s landmass is required to unlock the full potential of solar and wind power, with an additional 2.5 percent needed for green hydrogen production (CEEW, 2024).
Project brief
Furthermore, meeting India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets would require approximately 42.6 million hectares, equivalent to 13% of the total land area, to support six key climate actions. As India progresses toward its 2029-30 renewable energy goals, ensuring transparent, fair, and community-centric land procurement is essential to balancing development with social equity and environmental sustainability.
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Karnataka, India
Thematic area
Renewable energy / land
Project status
Ongoing
About
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha
Thematic area
Forest/ land
Project status
Completed
Forest right act and the need for digitization
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve tenure security, especially for customary and unrecorded rights, through tenure documentation.
Digitization is seen as a strategic pathway for tenure formalization, offering efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency at a low cost, while also providing easy access to formal financing and public entitlements.
About
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha
Thematic area
Forest/ land
Project status
Completed
Forest right act and the need for digitization
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve tenure security, especially for customary and unrecorded rights, through tenure documentation.
Digitization is seen as a strategic pathway for tenure formalization, offering efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency at a low cost, while also providing easy access to formal financing and public entitlements.
Approach
This study, led by Landstack in collaboration with CEEW, focuses on streamlining land procurement processes, aligning legal frameworks with RE policies, and developing responsible models for land acquisition, leasing, and pooling. By addressing structural barriers and proposing amendments to existing laws, it aims to enhance legal and procedural clarity, safeguarding the interests of landowners, smallholder farmers, and marginalized communities. Additionally, Landstack is developing procurement models, compensation mechanisms, and model contracts that can be adopted by RE developers and policymakers. By embedding a clear grievance redressal mechanism and ensuring procedural transparency, Landstack aims to bridge the gap between land governance and sustainable energy development, making renewable energy transition both efficient and just.
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Contact
For further information on specefic aspects of the project, contact
Richa Joshi
All project related details
Arman Mohanty
Data, coding, cleaning, index, web application related information
Himanshu Baranwal
Community health, FGDs, COVID case data, reporting
Omkar Modak
Survey, relief work
Contact
For further information on specefic aspects of the project, contact
Richa Joshi
All project related details
Himanshu Baranwal
All project related details
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