3 AgriTech platforms helping Indian farmers to access finance

By Leandra Monteiro

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.

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