
Alumni Profile
Terviva: sustainable agriculture, alternative proteins
Planting millions of trees to feed billions of people.
Enabling the economic livelihood of farmers, even small-scale farmers, is a key focus in the sustainability agenda around food. And given the decreasing nutritive power of food crops, nutrition remains an ongoing concern for the planet. Terviva seeks to address both areas.
Larta Institute has been proud to work with Terviva over a long period since their 2011 NSF CAP Phase I award when they were discovering the genetic benefits of the pongamia tree. Over the years, Naveen Sikka, the charismatic and inspiring CEO of Terviva, has been a presenter at several of Larta’s annual Ag Showcase events. At the 2021 Ag Innovation Showcase, Naveen highlighted the capabilities of reforesting land with poor soil quality with their pongamia seed and technology, and, as important, helping farmers affected by climate change and its effects, while also providing a nutritious food source. The Company anticipates that one orchard of pongamia trees, will, over the next 30 years, filter 115 tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.
Terviva has introduced the pongamia tree as a new commercial crop that converts distressed farmland into sustainable and productive acreage. Starting with fields devastated by citrus greening in Florida, a blight that has rapidly moved to Texas and California, the company has been able to unlock the pongamia tree’s potential as a climate-friendly, nutritional powerhouse to address food deficiency. Terviva is the first company to develop high-yielding, non-GMO cultivars of Pongamia and to create edible protein and oil from its beans to feed people. The pongamia tree, native to Asia, requires little water, virtually no fertilizer or pesticides, and can adapt to extreme climates.
UN Sustainable Development Goals



Larta Programs
- NSF - SBIR Commercialization Assistance Phase I
- Ag Innovation Showcase
Larta Products
- Commercialization Plan
- Go-To-Market Strategy
- Thought Leadership
Founders

Naveen Sikka
Founder & CEO Terviva
Connect
Larta’s platform and ecosystem have been essential to helping Terviva gain visibility, engage key ag and food tech stakeholders, and advance our mission to plant millions of trees to feed billions of people. We’re proud to have this crossroads of sustainability-focused tech and innovation as part of our story

Naveen Sikka
Founder & CEO Terviva
Alumni News

May 20, 2021
Terviva Closes $54M in Financing to Commercialize Sustainable Food Ingredients, Launches Collaboration with Danone
Total Expected Financing of $78 Million Will Drive Sales of Highly-Sustainable Edible Oil and Plant Protein Ingredients Starting in 2022

May 27, 2021
Danone partners with upstart to create food derived from the pongamia tree
Danone is partnering with Terviva to develop new food products that utilize oil and protein taken from beans harvested from pongamia trees, the companies said in a statement. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

March 26, 2019
Terviva Raises $20 Million in Series D to Drive Product Development and Market Expansion
Led by Ag Family Offices and Climate-Smart Investors, Funding Round Brings Ag-Tech Firm to $40 Million Raised for High-Yielding, Sustainable Plant Protein Product Development