Startups begin heading to the farms
Smart wearables might have become the ‘in-thing’ as far as health and fitness is concerned, but innovative startups are using wearables enabled with artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning to solve issues in the agri-sector. For instance, Bengaluru-based Stellapps Technologies uses wearables to monitor health, breeding and feeding pattern of cows to help dairy farmers improve productivity. Others like CropIn and Ninjacart are also fast gaining ground in providing agri-solutions based on wearable tech, offering predictability and certainty for the entire value chain.
Stellapps, founded in 2011, uses IoT solutions to track the dairy supply chain spanning milk production, procurement and cold chain logistics. Its customers now include commercial dairy farms, cooperatives, and private dairies. “We have taken a software-centric approach to improve yield, reducing costs and bringing in traceability to the supply chain as a whole – with focus on data analytics and machine learning,” says Ranjith Mukundan, its CEO & managing director.
The company supplies data acquisition hooks like sensors, IoT sensor controllers and IoT routers which are deployed at farms, milk procurement and chilling centers, with software that analyses data in real time. CropIn, meanwhile, offers a cloud-based mobile application to help farmers and others in the value chain digitise processes and enables real-time decision making from data. It works with the farming, seed production and agri-input sector and already operates in 29 countries, claiming to have digitised over 3.1 million acres of farmland.
Experts say that the foray of such firms into the sector will help solve larger problems. With a huge percentage of the population involved in farming, agri-tech players offer solutions to a sector so far deprived of technology to optimise operations.
Kunal Prasad, Co-founder and COO, CropIn, says that the platform is “overall more sustainable and (farmers’) income goes up”. Others like Ninjacart enable sharing of best practices and learnings. “We have data on various aspects from seed to crop sales across many farms,” notes Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO & Co-founder of Ninjacart.
However, while the segment is roaring along currently, the initial fund-crunch was a problem. “It was very tough to raise funding initially, because agriculture itself is considered a non-glamourous sector,” Mukundan admits.
But the last few years have seen this change. Initially funded primarily by social venture or impact funds, the segment is now attracting interest from institutional investors, PE and VC funds. Corporates like FMCG major Marico have also gotten in on the act, with its not-for-profit foundation launching the ‘Innovate2Cultivate’ program, focused on solving agricultural challenges through innovations in soil health management, water harvesting techniques, pest management, etc.
Funds pour in
According to a Nasscom report, more than 350 startups in the agri-segment raised around $300 million from investors in 2016. India accounted for 10 per cent of global investments.