The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) intends to support GH2 Industries in Pakistan to develop a climate-resilient, organic rice value chain that transforms agricultural by-products into high-value, low-emission products for the global food and pharmaceutical industries.
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GH2 Industries is a large producer of rice-based products, operating on a basis of circular principles and net-negative carbon emissions, while increasing yields and farmer livelihoods.
The project with GH2 has been put forward by the World Wide Fund for Nature Netherlands (WWF-NL) as a new project within the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development. WWF-NL manages the DFCD’s Origination Facility, together with SNV, a global development partner, to develop new projects for the climate investment fund. WWF-NL intends to sign a €350,000 grant funding agreement with GH2. Together with WWF’s DFCD Regional team and WWF Pakistan, they will carry out activities to develop more climate smart rice cultivation for GH2’s high-value rice derivatives.
Pakistan’s Sindh province is one of the country’s key rice-producing regions, but it faces escalating climate risks. Floods, droughts, heat stress, and erratic rainfall have severely disrupted rice yields and rural livelihoods. In 2022, catastrophic flooding destroyed up to 80% of Sindh’s rice production. At the same time, broken rice, a by-product of milling, is often undervalued and underutilized.
GH2 Industries is developing a greenfield agri-industrial facility near Thatta, Sindh, that will process rice into high-value derivatives such as sorbitol, dextrose, and rice protein - key ingredients for the food and pharma sectors. The facility will be powered by a biomass-based cogeneration plant using rice husk and bagasse and designed with a zero-liquid discharge system to minimize environmental impact. GH2 have received funding for the development of this facility from FMO.
With DFCD support, WWF will help GH2 ensure that the rice provided for this facility is sourced from a climate-smart, inclusive supply chain that sources directly from smallholder farmers. The project will pilot organic rice production, improve farmer resilience, and create a model for sustainable agro-industrial development in Pakistan.
In the screening phase for the project, WWF-NL, WWF’s DFCD Regional team and WWF Pakistan, have collaborated closely with GH2 to develop a set of context-appropriate activities, with the Origination Facility grant of €350,000 supporting the following:
Promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA): Develop tailored CSA practices for Sindh’s saline and water-stressed soils, including alternate wetting and drying, salt-tolerant varieties, and agroforestry.
Piloting Organic Rice Production: Support farmers in transitioning to organic practices, with training, certification support, and market linkage development.
Strengthening Social Inclusion: Apply a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) lens to ensure women and youth are actively engaged and benefit from the project.
Building Traceable Supply Chains: Establish farm-to-mill linkages and traceability systems for organic rice derivatives.
Testing Market Viability: Assess the business case for organic sorbitol and other derivatives, including fair pricing models and export potential.
“Working with Uzair, the CEO of GH2 gives the DFCD and WWF Pakistan the opportunity to design a pilot growing rice using Climate Smart Agriculture with an organic model in the Indus Delta Region. We see this very needed work as something that can be replicated and scaled across Pakistan.”
– Stuart Beavis, Regional Lead for Asia, WWF/DFCD.
The project is expected to:
Engage over 3,000 farmers in climate-smart and organic practices.
Transition up to 6,000 acres to sustainable land management.
Improve livelihoods through direct sourcing, fair pricing, organic certification and inclusive employment.
“At GH2, we believe the future of rice lies in climate-smart farming and circular processing. Through our partnership with WWF and DFCD, we are supporting farmers in adopting regenerative, organic and methane-reducing cultivation methods that conserve water and improve soils. By integrating these farms into Pakistan’s first circular rice-ingredients platform, we aim to show how sustainability can strengthen rural livelihoods and enhance the country’s global competitiveness.”
– Rana Uzair Nasir, CEO, GH2 Industries (Pvt) Limited.
This initiative is a lighthouse project for climate-resilient agro-industrial development in Pakistan. By linking sustainable farming with value-added processing and inclusive business models, the project can serve as a template for similar initiatives to be developed across the country and beyond.
For more information, contact Stuart Beavis, DFCD Regional Lead for Asia at sbeavis@wwf.org.hk. In case you have any grievances in relation to this project of the DFCD’s Origination Facility, please contact us through our service desk at servicedesk@wwf.nl.
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) is a climate fund, dedicated to supporting climate adaptation and mitigation projects which benefit vulnerable communities and landscapes. Initially funded by the Dutch government, it is powered by a consortium of four expert organisations: FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank), CFM (Climate Fund Managers), SNV, a global development partner, and WWF Netherlands.
