Fighting food waste and empowering women farmers

80% of the world’s food is grown on small farms. By 2050, global demand is expected to rise by 30%.

As the world faces rising food demand, social entrepreneur Nidhi Pant is tackling the challenge of food waste while empowering women farmers. Speaking with GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings, Pant explains how her organization, Science for Society Technologies (S4S), is helping smallholder farmers process and preserve their produce reducing massive post-harvest losses.

Pant’s journey began in India’s Himalayas, where her family lost 50% of their orange harvest due to poor infrastructure. “I asked myself, how can I use my engineering knowledge to solve this $14 billion problem of food loss in India?” she recalls.

By introducing low-cost dehydrators and women-centered financing models, S4S is turning surplus produce into stable income. “We want to empower women with assets, create positive impact on their bodies, and help them build a voice in their communities,” Pant says.

This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical discussions on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world."