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Agritech India

Technology based agriculture is need of the day. Emerging trend in agri-tech in India and other countries, adoption of technology by the farmers, agri-tech products knowledge, developments across different product categories and agri-tech products awareness creation through workshops and farmers’ meet etc. are the factors to be considered for betterment of the agriculture sector in India. Farm mechanization and agri-tech products adoption at different levels has to happen in a big way to address the issue of farm labour shortage and also improve the efficiency of crop cultivation activities.Some of the recent development of Indian

agri-tech system are: adoption of Information Technology (IT), GPS technology, irrigation systems, breeding, tissue culture, Nano-technology and shifting towards organic plant growth promoters and protection products etc. Today’s agriculture needs not only high tech products but also use of quality inputs, conservation of soil, water, environment and marketing facilities. Further, there is an urgent need for facilitation of sourcing and adoption of right agri-tech products and also farmers’ awareness creation on better agricultural practices for better agriculture in India.

Government Policies & Notifications

Centre To Form 10,000 Farmer Producer Associations: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje

August 16, 2021 & Source: https://starofmysore.com/centre-to-form-10000-farmer-producer-associations-union-minister-shobha-karandlaje/
Stating that the BJP led Government at the Centre was planning to form 10,000 Farmer Producer Associations across the country for the benefit of small, micro and marginal farmers, Union Minister of State for Centre to form 10,000 Farmer Producer Associations: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje - Star of Mysore. Addressing a press meet at Patrika Bhavan in Mandya this afternoon ahead of taking part in BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Shobha Karandlaje, who is on a maiden visit to the Sugar town after becoming a Union Minister, ridiculed the opposition for labelling Modi Govt. as anti-farmer. Reiterating that the Centre was working out more plans for farmer welfare, she said opposition should give constructive ideas if they have any and not indulge in making baseless allegations against the Government in power. Replying to a question on the fate of Mekedatu project, she said that Union Jal Shakti Minister has often spoken on the issue and would not like to clarify. Maintaining that she is always supportive of Karnataka Government’s stance on Mekadatu project, she said that Tamil Nadu’s apprehensions about the project is unfounded as Karnataka will have to release water as directed by Cauvery River tribunal and as such there is no point in TN objecting to the project.
Cabinet extends Agri Infra Fund loans to APMCs: New Delhi

Date: JULY 08, 2021 & Source: https://www.thehindu.com/
The Centre has decided to allow state-run market yards to access financing facilities through its Agricultural Infrastructure Fund to calm the fears of protesting farmers that such market yards are being weakened. On Friday, at its first meeting after the reshuffle, the Union Cabinet decided to extend the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to State agencies and Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), as well as federations of cooperative organisations, Farmers Producers Organizations and self help groups, according to an official statement. They will now be eligible for interest subvention for loans up to ₹2 crore, with APMCs allowed to access separate loans for different kinds of infrastructure projects to build cold storage, silos, sorting, grading and assaying units in their market yards.
Multiplier effect: The period of the financial facility has been extended by two additional years up to 2025-26, while the overall period of the scheme has been extended to 2032-33. “The modifications in the Scheme will help to achieve a multiplier effect in generating investments while ensuring that the benefits reach small and marginal farmers. The APMC markets are set up to provide market linkages and create an ecosystem of post-harvest public infrastructure open to all farmers,” said the statement. Briefing journalists on the Cabinet decision, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said this was proof that “APMC will not end”. The Central government was committed to making APMC more powerful and useful for farmers, he said. Thousands of protesting farmers have been calling for a repeal of three farm reform laws passed by Parliament last year. One of their concerns has been that by encouraging tax-free agricultural trade outside of the APMCs, the Centre was weakening the APMC system and opening the way for corporate exploitation of farmers. In many States, the APMC yards are also the location for government procurement of crops at minimum support prices (MSP). “There was apprehension that MSP will be scrapped. However, since the farmers’ protest began, the procurement of food grains, pulses and oilseeds has only increased,” said Mr. Tomar.
Appeal to farm unions: He appealed to the protesting farm unions to end their agitation and resume talks with the government for possible amendment of provisions in the three laws. However, he ruled out repeal of the contentious Acts. The farm unions have said they will not participate in such ‘conditional’ talks. They plan to intensify their agitation during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
Karnataka's new app to help farmers sell produce directly to retail chains

Date: Jun 10, 2021 & Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/karnatakas-new-app-to-help-farmers-sell-produce-directly-to-retail-chains/articleshow/83393673.cms
A new mobile app will soon launch in Karnataka to help farmers sell their food to retailers like as BigBasket, Reliance Fresh, Nature’s Basket, and Ninjacart. The e- Sahamathi app in assistance with nationwide informatics center (NIC), developed by the e-governance division, created to let the farmers present their consent to retailers to reach out to them to secure a deal of his/her procedure. “That is an open API. A retailer can entry particulars akin to a farmer’s identify, his crop, landholding, location and so forth., on a real-time foundation of solely these farmers who’ve consented,” extra chief secretary (e-governance) Rajeev Chawla told ET. “We’ve not spoken to any retailer, however we are going to give large publicity about this technology-enabled function. All stakeholders could make use of this. The federal government’s position ends there,” he stated. “We spend about ₹100 crore yearly to assemble crop survey information of farmlands unfold over 25 million plots,” Chawla stated. “We have a community of about 30,000 paid surveyors who add this information, with the image of crops, on a realtime foundation.” A huge database with information on seven million farmers in Karnataka, including their names, landholdings, location, and type of crop or crops farmed was built by his organization.
The information could be shared on getting permission from farmers with major merchants, who are in need to buy farm products directly from farms and the federal government has the authority to do it.
Karnataka’s agricultural produce market committee (APMC) regulations were altered last year to allow farmers to sell their products to merchants and food processing industries outside of controlled mandis. According to an analyst, the creation of e-Sahamathi is the natural next step after APMC’s monopoly over agricultural products was broken. According to the analyst who asked not to be identified, if the app is successful, it would lead to greater value discovery for agricultural produce, resulting in higher revenues and lower debts in rural regions. Farmers may update information about their crops and the region on the crop survey app, according to Shakeel Ahmed, project head of the state e-governance division’s Farmer Registration & Unified Beneficiary Data System (FRUITS). According to them, the software can also aid enterprises selling seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, and bank loans in supplying their products or services to willing farmers. It will allow customers to find producers who are most equipped to meet their needs.
New farm laws to boost competition; farmers can sell produce to corporates: Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian

Date: Jul 12, 2021 & Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/new-farm-laws-to-boost-competition-farmers-can-sell-produce-to-corporates-chief-economic-advisor-k-subramanian/articleshow/84342586.cms
Subramanian said the insistence on selling goods only at Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets dented farmers' realisations because the buyer who acted as an intermediary had an upper hand in the trade due to factors like it being a perishable commodity or the costs involved in coming to the market again. New farm laws will ultimately help farmers get better returns as the legislations provide for competition by allowing them to sell their produce to even corporates like Reliance NSE 2.46 % and ITC NSE -0.43 % for good prices, Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian said on Monday. The farm laws were cleared by Parliament last year but the Supreme Court, in January 2021, their implementation amid protests by farmers. The farm laws is a step towards improving the incomes of small and marginal farmers, Subramanian said. Critics of the laws have been questioning the manner in which the bills were passed and alleged that the reform will help big businesses by corporatising farm activities.
Subramanian said the insistence on selling goods only at Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets dented farmers' realisations because the buyer who acted as an intermediary had an upper hand in the trade due to factors like it being a perishable commodity or the costs involved in coming to the marketagain. "The farm bill provides for competition so that the small and marginal farmer can go to the intermediary and say if you are not going to provide a good price, I can go and sell it to someone else. That someone else could be ITC, Reliance or Farm Fresh," he added. Speaking at an event to celebrate the foundation event of Nabard, he said these entities will compete for farmers' produce, which will ensure that a farmer, especially a small and marginal farmer, will get the adequate value of the produce. The presence of the APMC Acts, which the farm laws seek to do away with, can be traced back to the needs of 13th-century conqueror Alauddin Khilji to feed his big army, Subramanian said, adding that a farmer gets only up to 15 per cent of the value of a commodity with the intermediary making the most. Subramanian, an academic-turned-policy advisor, added that competition has always helped the final consumers and producers, pointing to sectors like banking, mutual funds, telecom and airports as success stories. He also said the rich farmers do not face the same troubles as small and marginal farmers when it comes to selling goods because of their ability to invest in storage infrastructure apart from being better networked.
Apart from the APMC laws, the farm reforms also do away with the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, which do not distinguish between legitimate storage and hoarding of an agri commodity, he added. Subramanian said the provisions were being used for perverse outcomes, which is visible through the fact that there were over 80,000 raids with only under 2 per cent of them being prosecuted, and its core motive of stabilising prices was not achieved at all. "The small and marginal farmer has been losing out and his state has not improved significantly despite over 75 years of independence," he said, claiming that the laws along with the agricultural infrastructure fund will be of help.
Centre hikes sugarcane FRP to Rs 290/quintal; rules out raising sugar price

Date: August 26, 2021
Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/centre-hikes-sugarcane-frp-to-rs-290-quintal-rules-out-raising-sugar-price- 121082501027_1.html#:~:text=The%20Centre%20on%20Wednesday%20hiked,the%20sale%20price%20of%20sugar
The Centre on Wednesday hiked the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers, also known as the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), by Rs 5 per quintal to Rs 290 a quintal for 2021-22 (October-September) sugar season while ruling out any immediate commensurate increase in the sale price of sugar. The decision to increase the FRP of sugarcane for was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) held here. The FRP of sugarcane in 2020-21 season was Rs 285 per quintal. Just like in previous years, the Rs 290 a quintal FRP of sugarcane will be applicable on a basic recovery of 10 per cent. Over the basic recovery rate of 10 per cent a premium of Rs 2.90 per quintal will be provided for each 0.1 per cent increase in recovery over and above 10 per cent. There will be a reduction in FRP by Rs 2.90 per quintal for every 0.1 per cent decrease in recovery. That apart, there will be no deduction of FRP where recovery is below 9.5 per cent. "Such farmers will get Rs 275.50 per quintal for sugarcane in ensuing sugar season 2021-22 in place of Rs 270.75 per quintal in current sugar season 2020-21," Food Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet.

Agritech News & Events

News

3 AgriTech platforms helping Indian farmers to access finance

List of agritech platforms helping the farmers during sowing season

Karnataka's new app to help farmers sell produce directly to retail chains

Agritech Robotics Startup TartanSense raises $5mn in Series A Funding

IIM Udaipur Incubation Center invites agritech & fintech startups, doubles the investment offerings

3 AgriTech platforms helping Indian farmers to access finance

Date: September 6, 2021
Source: https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/3-agritech-platforms-helping-indian-farmers-to-access-finance/
AgriTech India, with 118.7 million farmers, which accounts for more than half of its population, depends on agriculture as its primary source of income. However, the use of technology in the agricultural industry has been limited in India. As a result, the agriculture industry in India contributes merely 17-18% to its GDP. However, in the last couple of years, India has seen a rise in the number of AgriTech start-ups that are not only making technology more accessible but also helping these farmers to improve their lives.
Here is a list of AgriTech platforms helping the farmers: Agdhi: An AgriTech start-up based in Bengaluru has introduced vision-enabled AI-based technology in agriculture. It has launched Machine Learning and computer vision techniques to detect defects in seeds and crops, thus enabling the farming community to get quality seeds and crops. The results arrive in seconds. The aim is to bring technology disruption in seed testing, seed sampling, and crop yield, which is the need of the hour. The start-up is introducing digital technology and building alternative solutions to facilitate sustainable methods in agriculture.
AgroStar: Founded by brothers Shardul Sheth and Sitanshu Sheth in 2013, offers an online marketplace for farmers to buy agricultural inputs. This AgriTech startup also helps farmers by providing real-time advice from experts on how to manage their crops and boost their yield.
Unnati: An AgriTech space helps the farmers throughout the farming life cycle such as working capital, seed buying and guidance, buying nutrients and pesticides, harvesting and selling the crops. The AgriTech player works with branded and quality players to offer the right seeds to the farmers and to increase various seed options for them. The platform believes that the right seeds play a crucial role in farmers wellbeing. It is also helping the farmers in knowledge transfer for making the right choice based on land situation, commercial potential, weather conditions etc. It also aids in terms of land preparation, irrigation best practices, sowing management, financing and more to procure better seeds.
List of agritech platforms helping the farmers during sowing season

Date: August 25, 2021
Source: https://www.apnnews.com/list-of-agritech-platforms-helping-the-farmers-during-sowing-season/
India, with 118.7 million farmers, which accounts for more than half of its population, depends on agriculture as its primary source of income. However, the use of technology in the agricultural industry has been limited in India. As a result, the agriculture industry in India contributes merely 17-18% to its GDP. However, in the last couple of years, India has seen a rise in the number of agritech startups that are not only making technology more accessible but also helping these farmers to improve their lives.
To assist the farmer and to provide high quality produce to consumers, a number of agritech startups have come up with innovative methods of cultivation. Here is a list of agritech platforms helping the farmers during the sowing season.
AgriBazaar-India’s largest agri-tech marketplace is channelising all their energies to empower farmers with the latest tools at attractive prices. The digital platform not only provides access to agricultural inputs, such as fertilisers, seeds, planting materials, and equipment but also strives to equip farmers with adequate information on the quality and best practices of the products they buy.AgriBazaar offers valuable insights into the incorporation of sustainable farming practices through organic inputs. They have also developed advanced technologies to offer real-time crop advisory with farmers, leveraging Big Data, we analyse historical weather data and share real-time farming advice.
NABARD venture capital-backed Unnati, An Agritech space helps the farmers throughout the farming life cycle such as working capital, seed buying and guidance, buying nutrients and pesticides, harvesting and selling the crops. The agritech player works with branded and quality players to offer right seeds to the farmers and to increase various seed options for them. The platform believes that right seeds play a crucial role in farmer well being. It is also helping the farmers in knowledge transfer for making the right choice based on land situation, commercial potential, weather conditions etc. It also provides assistance in terms of land preparation, irrigation best practices, sowing management, financing and more to procure better seeds.
Karnataka's new app to help farmers sell produce directly to retail chains

Date: Jun 10, 2021
Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/karnatakas-new-app-to-help-farmers-sell-produce-directly-to-retail-chains/articleshow/83393673.cms
A new mobile app will soon launch in Karnataka to help farmers sell their food to retailers like as BigBasket, Reliance Fresh, Nature’s Basket, and Ninjacart. The e- Sahamathi app in assistance with nationwide informatics center (NIC), developed by the e-governance division, created to let the farmers present their consent to retailers to reach out to them to secure a deal of his/her procedure. “That is an open API. A retailer can entry particulars akin to a farmer’s identify, his crop, landholding, location and so forth., on a real-time foundation of solely these farmers who’ve consented,” extra chief secretary (e-governance) Rajeev Chawla told ET. “We’ve not spoken to any retailer, however we are going to give large publicity about this technology-enabled function. All stakeholders could make use of this. The federal government’s position ends there,” he stated. “We spend about ₹100 crore yearly to assemble crop survey information of farmlands unfold over 25 million plots,” Chawla stated. “We have a community of about 30,000 paid surveyors who add this information, with the image of crops, on a realtime foundation.” A huge database with information on seven million farmers in Karnataka, including their names, landholdings, location, and type of crop or crops farmed was built by his organization.
The information could be shared on getting permission from farmers with major merchants, who are in need to buy farm products directly from farms and the federal government has the authority to do it.
Karnataka’s agricultural produce market committee (APMC) regulations were altered last year to allow farmers to sell their products to merchants and food processing industries outside of controlled mandis. According to an analyst, the creation of e-Sahamathi is the natural next step after APMC’s monopoly over agricultural products was broken. According to the analyst who asked not to be identified, if the app is successful, it would lead to greater value discovery for agricultural produce, resulting in higher revenues and lower debts in rural regions. Farmers may update information about their crops and the region on the crop survey app, according to Shakeel Ahmed, project head of the state e-governance division’s Farmer Registration & Unified Beneficiary Data System (FRUITS). According to them, the software can also aid enterprises selling seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, and bank loans in supplying their products or services to willing farmers. It will allow customers to find producers who are most equipped to meet their needs.
Agritech Robotics Startup TartanSense raises $5mn in Series A Funding

Date: 26-09-21
Source: https://krishijagran.com/industry-news/agritech-robotics-startup-tartansense-raises-5mn-in-series-a-funding/
Agritech robotics startup TartanSense announced today that it has raised USD 5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by FMC Ventures and Omnivore, with participation from existing investor Blume Ventures. This brings the total funds raised by the company to USD 7 million, after raising a USD 2million Seed round in March 2019. TartanSense is one the top agritech startup.
About TartanSense:
TartanSense builds small agricultural robots, equipped with AI-assisted computer vision, to help small farms reduce their expenditures and improve their incomes.
It is helping smallholder farmers who struggle with low yields, primarily driven by two reasons - poor chemical spraying techniques and unreliable farm labor.
Their robots are an affordable precision agriculture solution for all major farming activities - sowing, spraying, weeding, and harvesting - which simultaneously drive down cultivation costs while improving crop yields.
BladeRunner, TartanSense’s latest robot, can identify, precisely locate, and mechanically uproot undesirable weeds as well as spot spray on the desired crop - reducing chemical usage by 45% as well as increasing weeding efficiency by 7 times. The future of agriculture is this combination of machine learning software and frugal hardware, helping farmers move from farm-level decision making to plant-level decision making.
IIM Udaipur Incubation Center invites agritech & fintech startups, doubles the investment offerings

Date: September 6, 2021
Source: https://mybigplunge.com/startups/funding-news/iim-udaipur-incubation-center-invites-agritech-fintech-startups-doubles-the-investment-offerings/
IIM Udaipur’s Incubation Center announced the fourth cohort of their ‘Launch-n-Zoom,’ a 3-month accelerator cohort program designed to provide startups with the resources and support they need to grow quickly, test the market, and become viable. IIMUIC is inviting technology-backed startups (pre-seed, seed, and growth stage) offering solutions to tackle challenges in the AgriTech and FinTech sectors. Startups who have their prototype/MVP ready and are in the process of scaling/marketing their products in the AgriTech and Fintech stand eligible for this program.
Apart from Market Validation, Networking, Mentorship, Industry Partnership and Incubation Support, the cohort also includes investment opportunities up to rupees 20 lakhs for qualified startups. The program is powered by the DST, (Gov) of India and is presented in collaboration with PI Industries and Fidelity Investments. As the corporate partners, PI and Fidelity Investments will mentor and guide AgriTech participants.
Mr. Kannan Soundararajan, CEO, IIM Udaipur Incubation Center said, “The fourth edition of Launch-n-Zoom supported by NIDHI Seed Support is a three-month accelerator program with a unique opportunity for the entrepreneurs to scale and grow their ventures with the help of our mentors, industry experts, and corporate partners. We as a team, will try and tailor the program to your unique needs and help in your venture’s growth. I offer my heartiest congratulations and warmly invite eligible startups to this cohort.”
In the focus area of AgriTech, subject topics such as Market Linkage-Farm Inputs, Farm Mechanization and Automation, Precision Agriculture and Farm Management, Quality Management, Supply Chain Tech, Waste Management and Financial Services etc, will be covered. Whereas in the focus area of Fintech, concerns such as Autonomous Finance, Financial Primacy, Banking-as-a-service, Financial Inclusion-Retail Customers, and Financial Inclusion- SMEs etc, will be addressed.
A small number of high potential startups will be selected to take part in the 12-week program beginning from October 25th 2021. The program shall also provide rapid prototyping support to selected startups, and Amazon Web Services Razor pay, Zoho credits to all participating startups for free. Along with that, startups will become an alumni member of the startup ecosystem and will continue to enjoy and make use of the institute’s incubation services for one year post the acceleration program.
Eligibility
The venture should be a registered company in India.
The venture has to be an Indian start-up. This support is not meant for Indian Subsidiaries of MNCs/foreign companies. Persons holding Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) would be considered as Indian citizens for this scheme.
The shareholding by Indian promoters in the startup should be at least 51%.
Selected start-ups should become an incubatee of IIMUIC and should have completed three months of incubation at IIMUIC at the time of seed fund investment.
Program Timeline
Applications Open : 27th Aug, 2021
Applications Close : 27th Sept, 2021
Application Screening : 28th Sept, 2021 – 15th Oct, 2021
Result Announcement : 15th Oct, 2021
Cohort Starts : 25th Oct, 2021
The institute’s incubation center has already hosted three cohorts till now with various startups from ranging backgrounds having transformed their startup idea into a market product. The accelerator program will be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. For more details on the program, please visit- Launch-n-Zoom 4.0 | IIMU Incubation

Events

World Tea & Coffee Expo 2021, 2nd to 4th Dec ’21 at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar

Foodtech Kolkata 2021, 19th to 21st Nov ’21 at Science city, Kolkatta

International Poultry & Livestock Expo, 28th to 30th Oct ’21 at BIEC, Bengaluru

FarmTech Asia 2021, 19th to 22nd Nov, College of Agriculture Indore

KISAN Fair, 15th th to 19th Dec ’21 at Agriculture College Ground, Pune, Maharashtra

Agritech Gallery

Agritech Knowledge Centre & Blog

Agriculture technology

Today’s agriculture needs not only high technology but also use of quality inputs, conservation of soil, water, environment and marketing facilities

Food Processing

There has been a heavy wastage of perishable food products in India post-harvest period. It is estimated that wastage is as high as 30-35% in selected crops.

Greenhouse or poly house

Greenhouse cultivation of vegetables, flowers, exotic vegetables, medicinal herbs etc. not only enhance yield and quality but also reduce the use of water, pesticides and nutrients. Further it is also possible to grow off-season crops as we control the temperature,

Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture, also known as urban farming, terrace gardening, kitchen garden, home gardening etc. is to promote the urbanites to produce suitable crops including vegetables,

Agritech Videos

As a part our services and knowledge transformation initiative, we share live demo videos, exposure videos, success stories, feedback from farmers/ customers and training videos. Our farmers/ customers can expect frequent updation of this section.

Dr Soil Health

Dr. Soil Health is an innovation in Biotechnology, a unique product formulated by the Research and development wing of Samarth Bio Tech ltd. Dr. Soil Health is manufactured using plant extracts which supplements energy source for higher yield and harvest and is composed of natural earthworm exudates, seaweeds extract, amino acids, vitamins, Fulvic acids, humic acids, chelated micro and macro nutrients, all of them derived from natural plant origin. Dr. Soil Health will result in development of roots & shoots and stimulates the cell division, improves the crop size and increasing the beneficial micro-organisms.