A version of this photo blog was originally published on October 15, 2024 in Gaon Connection.⁠

As the first light of dawn breaks over the farm, Ravi steps onto the field to the sight of solar panels glistening under the early morning sun. This is no ordinary farm; it is an agrivoltaics installation where the land is co-utilized for cultivating crops, raising livestock and harnessing solar energy.

"The world is on fire, from the Amazon to California, from Australia to the Siberian Arctic. The hour is late and the moment of consequence, so long delayed, is now upon us. Do we watch the world burn, or do we choose to do what is necessary to achieve a different future?" — Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac in ‘The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis’

This is the first blog in a three-part series that presents the climate action planning process – from creation of the plan to its implementation – for three cities in Maharashtra. It records the learnings from this process and looks at how climate action plans can pave the way for sustainable, equitable and resilient development.

In a small, predominantly tribal village of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh, Sushma and her husband Anil toil hard to cultivate tomatoes in the small parcel of land that they own. They are dependent on the income from growing tomatoes for their household expenses and to repay the loans they take to bear farming costs. However, it is not always profitable to grow tomatoes. Sometimes, they bear losses due to unforeseen weather conditions, pest infestation or poor market prices.