‘By far our best investment’: Nithin Kamath backs a farm fix hiding in plain sight

Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath calls it Rainmatter Foundation’s “best investment”, a dairy startup that’s not only doubling milk output but also regenerating dead soil and slashing carbon emissions on Indian farms.

Kamath’s bet is on Akshayakalpa, a farm-to-home organic dairy company founded by Shashi Kumar. What drew him in? A regenerative farming model that’s pushing soil organic content (SOC) from 0.3%—the national average and near-desert levels—to as high as 2.5% in some patches.

“This is by far our best investment,” Kamath posted on X, sharing photos and data from Akshayakalpa farms. “The practices they're teaching farmers are rebuilding the soil—which really is the farmer's true wealth.”

He explained why SOC is vital: it improves water retention, nutrient delivery, and supports microbial life. “When SOC drops below 0.5%, you're looking at desert-like conditions where nothing grows without pumping in fertilisers,” he wrote. The EU average SOC is 1.8%, making Akshayakalpa’s gains all the more striking.

A chart shared by Kamath shows that farms under Akshayakalpa’s system not only produce more milk—up to 140,000 liters per farm—but also emit less carbon, with per-liter emissions falling from 2.56 to 1.41 kg CO2e/kg FPCM as farm tenure increases.

While Kamath doesn’t mention trade directly, the chart raises broader implications. India’s agriculture-heavy export basket still faces stiff headwinds in the U.S., with over 55% of shipments—across sectors like dairy, seafood, and textiles—hit by high tariffs, many originating from the Trump-era trade regime.

That contrast—between high-performing, low-emission farms and a punitive trade environment—spotlights the global relevance of regenerative agriculture. The challenge, Kamath notes, is scale: “Can this be done across more farms—and done right?”