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an insetting model for global food brands and smallholder rice communities in Asia
SAMA^Verte is delighted to announce that it has successfully secured funding through the latest Energy Catalyst competitionfrom Innovate UK, a UK government Initiative. The project will be delivered in collaboration with UK–based environmental consultancy RE 5, and Brunel Innovation Centre at Brunel University London, with support from Schneider Electric and leadingPakistani rice exporters.
Building on the consortium’s proven track record of successfully securing and delivering projects under Energy Catalyst Rounds 8 and 10, the consortium intends to pilot a unique insetting model, called Clean & Affordable Energy for Rice (CAER), for global food brands to invest within their value chains, specifically smallholder rice farmers, for traceable and verifiable environmental and social impacts for enhancing the resilience of the rice supply chain.
The project envisions CAER to be replicable across the sector on a global scale and intends to engage two of the most important stakeholders within the rice value chain i.e. food brands based in the UK and Europe, and smallholder farming communities in Pakistan. While the UK is entirely dependent upon imports to meet rice demand, largely from South Asia, Pakistan is a major global rice exporter. It exported 5.2 million tonnes in 2024/25 which accounts for around 10.5% of annual national export proceeds.
The focus of CAER is on devising and validating a commercial model for global food brands, identifying export-linked rice partners, and shaping the delivery model with prospective financing and technology partners. It marks an important step towards demonstrating how innovative commercial models can accelerate the decarbonization of agricultural value chains while creating tangible benefits for smallholder farming communities, such as provision of flexible solar and other clean energy storage solutions.
SAMA^Verte and its project partners look forward to sharing updates and key milestones as the project progresses. We welcome opportunities to engage with organisations interested in sustainable sourcing, climate innovation, and resilient food systems.
Sajjad Ali Khan
Head of Sustainable Business Models
SAMA^Verte
sajjad.khan@samaverte.com
