Agriculture And Start Ups: How Is That Yielding?

Agri tech start ups

The agricultural sector is the backbone of the Indian Economy. Till date this sector employs the maximum number of people in the country. Yet, it is the most backdated and poverty ridden sector. Farmers have long faced issues like low yield, pesticide problem, corruption by the middlemen and over dependence on monsoon. Such issues prevail in the current scenario too, which puts our economy in a disadvantageous position.

Lately, the policy maker and the government has come up with support for the startups which are now revolutionising this segment. Startups focusing on the agricultural domain has not only helped the product but has also helped the farmers. These startups have been created to uplift the sector and tackle the ground level problems.

Here are the 3 startups that have not only made big in the market but have impacted people’s lives also:

• Cofarm- This Agri startup was started in May 2016 by Prashant Jain and Varun Khurana. Cofarm is an agricultural supply chain that buys fresh vegetables and fruits directly from the farmers. It then supplies those vegetables and fruits to the online and offline retailers. The price offered to these farmers is more than the market price. It is a Delhi based network. It follows theF2B (Farmer to Business) venture. It has also partnered with Reliance Retail, Grofers and Big Basket. The company earns its revenue through commissions. The commissions starts from nearly 5% of the price of less perishable goods like potato and onions and goes upto 15% of green vegetables. The products that they source have a longer shelf life and source from national and regional zones. It fills in two big inefficiencies of the agricultural problems- agri wastage during distribution and selling of far produce. This digitised agri supply chain for fruits and vegetables increases income of both the farmers and retailers. According to survey reports, farmers associated with Cofarm have seen a 25% increase in their income. As of today it as 10,000 farmers in its network. Lessons- Cofarm has not only helped the agri sector but also, shows new startups how the business should be grown.It shows how important identifying a problem and solving the problem in a society is both profitable and viable.

• Kamal Kisan- This venture is the brain child of Devi Murthy. This startup sells customised low cost equipments based on the specific needs of the farmers. Its main aim was to empower India’s small and marginalised farmers by developing cost effective machines. These smart mechanisations help to improve both profitability and labour productivity. The equipments that they sell are innovative and useful. These includes- vegetable planters, power weeders and sugarcane planters. This venture is now serving the needs of 2000 farmers mainly in Karnataka. Kamal Kisan is a great platform which has simplified the work of the farmers. As a Startup too it has several lessons that one can learn from.Lessons- Firstly, Devi Murthy is a woman entrepreneur who worked for the society and has also paved the way for many other women entrepreneurs. Secondly, Kamal Kisan also highlights the fact that a startup idea needs to be innovative and should have a unique selling point, in this case it was its innovative equipments. Just like that every startup needs to finds its unique selling point.

• Ninja Cart- Ninja cart works on the similar lines of Cofarm. It also directly sources fruits and vegetables from farmers. It is Bengaluru based and does away with the middlemen, commission agents and auction agents. It connects the farmers directly to the retailers. Sharath Loganthanthe co founder of NinjaCart came up with the idea when he was appalled by the wastage. Along with that with the elimination of middlemen, the farmers are not prone to exploitation. They get better prices and their money is not eaten away by the middlemen. It sends crates to the location of the farmers to gather the product free of cost. The venture also delivers the products to the doorstop of customers. NinjaCart holds seminars for farmers to educate them on market trends and market prices.Lessons-NinjaCart gives out the valuable lesson of responsiveness and customer sustenance. It effectively holds its customers who are primarily farmers and gives them several benefits. It knows how to retain its customers which is extremely important for every start up.

All these startups have succeeded considerably in their ventures. Their success can be mainly credited to their Business model, Customer retention methods and their unique selling proposition. Agriculture is a sector that has a lot of potential and gaps that needs to be fulfilled. With the amount of scope available in agriculture, it will be of no surprise if more startups focus on that sector.