Yi Li on Economics as the Key to Sustainable Climate Action

The FarmWorks Mission and Initial Challenges

• 🎯 FarmWorks was cofounded with the mission to build 1,000 climate-smart farms in Kenya, incorporating dams, irrigation, and organic fertilizers.
• 📉 Despite initial successes like supporting 3,000 farmers and generating $6 million in direct income, the focus shifted to profitability as the primary metric.
• ⚠️ A key realization was that without guaranteed buyers and financial returns, climate initiatives struggle to sustain themselves, leading to produce waste and farmer distrust.

Navigating the Wholesale Market

• 📈 Yi Li immersed herself in Kenya's chaotic vegetable wholesale market to ensure FarmWorks could sell its produce.
• 🤝 Through persistence and learning market dynamics, she built relationships with market vendors, many of whom became customers.
• 🚀 This market understanding enabled FarmWorks to sell nearly all its produce and even partner with more farmers to meet demand.

Rethinking Farmer Support

• 💡 The initial approach of providing knowledge and climate-smart techniques like drip irrigation proved insufficient when farmers couldn't afford the associated costs or see guaranteed returns.
• 💰 FarmWorks shifted its strategy to buying and distributing produce, providing farmers with a reliable income.
• 🌱 This economic incentive empowered farmers to invest in better practices and equipment for their own farms, demonstrating that economics can be more powerful than knowledge.

Economic Viability for Lasting Impact

• 🧑‍🌾 Young people are interested in agriculture, but they prioritize decent jobs and incomes, a need FarmWorks addresses with over 80% of its employees under 30.
• 🌍 The core lesson is that real sustainability, climate or otherwise, must stem from economics first.
• 💡 Economically viable solutions enable farmers to invest, companies to scale impact, and communities to afford long-term environmental care, leading to lasting climate impact.