Meet Kartik Khera – A Systems Thinker Bridging Tradition and Innovation in Indian Horticulture
Kartik Khera doesn’t just study apples — he follows their journey from a fruit research institute in Ravensburg to the fruit bowl of India, Himachal Pradesh, uncovering the losses, stories, and systems in between. A fruit researcher with roots in India and training in Germany, Kartik’s work blends scientific precision with a deep understanding of real-world farming challenges. In his PhD at the University of Hohenheim, Kartik is exploring how apples can be grown more sustainably in India — not just to improve fruit quality, but to genuinely improve farmers’ lives. In Himachal Pradesh, a significant share of the apple harvest is still lost after picking, mainly due to poor storage and weak supply chains. Kartik is digging into ways to fix that — from making cold storage more accessible to helping farmers benefit from smarter systems. One part of his research focuses on Agri-PV — combining solar panels with apple orchards — to see whether clean energy can also mean higher profits for growers. Another part explores natural farming: what motivates farmers to switch to it, and how social and economic factors play a role in that decision. Altogether, his work ties together sustainability, economics, climate, and community — all to answer one big question: how can apple farming in India be both productive and fair? With hands-on experience at Germany’s renowned Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau-Bodensee (KOB), where he is currently leading the INTERREG-funded project “Beneficial Insects in Fruit Growing” — aimed at reducing dependency on chemical plant protection by promoting natural allies within orchards — Kartik brings a strong background in post-harvest physiology and storage innovation. He has led field experiments, coordinated World Bank–funded international training programs, and co-authored research in leading journals — all while staying grounded in his mission to make a real impact on the lives of small-scale farmers in India. Through his work, Kartik is connecting dots between cold storage tech, policy gaps, and local knowledge — and reshaping how we think about something as simple, and vital, as an apple.
