SINGAPORE - To lift small-holder farmers out of poverty, a team from India gives them cheap solar-powered dryers and food-processing equipment to turn excess produce into valuable products – a lifeline to an additional source of income.
S4S Technologies targets women in particular, as the agricultural sector employs 80 per cent of all economically active women in India. Most of them live in poverty, earning less than US$2.50 (S$3.40) a day.
About 30 per cent of agricultural produce in India is wasted due to bumper harvests and price fluctuations. By converting unsold produce into breakfast cereal, ketchup and other products, some 100,000 farmers have recorded a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in their profits since 2020.
For its efforts, S4S was awarded the Earthshot Prize on Tuesday evening at a ceremony held at Mediacorp Theatre in Singapore.
The prize, launched in 2020 by Prince William’s Royal Foundation charity, funds innovative solutions to global environmental challenges. Five winners across five categories each received £1 million (S$1.7 million) to scale up their projects.
S4S Technologies won in the Build A Waste-Free World category. The other winners were California-headquartered soil carbon marketplace Boomitra, which won in the Fix Our Climate category; Hong Kong-based sustainable battery firm GRST (Clean Our Air); the marine programme by San Francisco-based wildlife conservation organisation WildAid (Revive Our Oceans), and forest-restoration initiative Accion Andina, which is based in the Andes mountains (Protect And Restore Nature).
GRST chief executive Justin Hung said: “While we’re super excited to be winners, this £1 million comes with responsibility. We have to collectively use this money to make the earth better and safer.”
In his speech, Prince William said: “Our winners and finalists remind us that no matter where you are on the planet, the spirit of ingenuity and the ability to inspire change remains.”
He also thanked Singapore for hosting the prize ceremony, describing the Republic as a place where the natural and urban worlds can coexist.
The Earthshot Prize, which is in its third iteration and held in Singapore for the first time, lived up to its reputation as the “Eco Oscars” with its celebrity-studded guest list on Tuesday.
Guests walked down an aptly coloured green carpet, and many of them wore pre-loved outfits or ensembles made of sustainable materials.
The awards ceremony was hosted by actors Hannah Waddingham and Sterling K. Brown, and the prizes were presented by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who is also an Earthshot Prize council member; actors Donnie Yen, Lana Condor and Nomzamo Mbatha; and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin.
Speaking to The Straits Times on the green carpet, Mr Irwin, son of the late “Crocodile Hunter” and conservationist Steve Irwin, said: “I feel a great responsibility to continue my dad’s legacy as he was such an active voice for change. He wanted to save wildlife, unify people and society to have a bit of consideration for the beautiful world we share. Protecting wildlife goes hand in hand with everything we’re talking about here tonight – you can’t have a healthy population of wild animals without clean air, without fixing our climate problem, without cleaning our oceans... So tonight is a really great way to create some real optimistic change for the world and help wildlife along the way.”
Ms Condor, who presented the Build A Waste-Free World prize, said addressing waste was the environmental cause that she feels most strongly for, as it is something individuals can take action on.
“Sometimes people can feel overwhelmed by the gravity and the general scope of what we should do to protect the environment, but waste is something that feels individual and focused.”
Ms Condor, who is visiting Singapore for the first time, added: “I encourage everyone to think about how much waste they put out in the world and research ways to reduce this.”
American pop-rock band OneRepublic opened the ceremony with its famous hits, Counting Stars and I Ain’t Worried. This was followed by Grammy-nominated artist Bebe Rexha, who sang her hit song, I’m Good (Blue).
The evening closed with British rock-pop band Bastille playing a soulful rendition of its signature hit, Pompeii MMXXIII. The song was a soundtrack in BBC’s documentary Planet Earth III, which was narrated and presented by Sir David Attenborough.
