“Selling products and technologies to farmers is a big challenge and it is one area where many startups have not figured out a successful model. Aligning with the farmers’ needs and committing to improve productivity is not an easy task,” said Nagaraja Prakasam, angel investor at the Indian Angel Network, adding, “In a developed country, farmers get up to 70% of what the consumers pay, but in India they merely get 30%. So the supply chain of farm to market is not efficient here. The potential is huge, but the challenges are even bigger.
Huge potential, but bigger challenges for agri startups
By: Prabhu Mallikarjunan | Bangalore | July 5, 2015 8:45 AM
With increasing mobile penetration and Internet access in rural areas, startups are slowly emerging in the agriculture sector too, with a focus on solving issues concerning farmers.
Startups like FreshWorld, Farmily, Awaaz De, Anulekh Agrotech and Sahaja Organics are disseminating farm information through mobile phones, bridging the gaps in agri retail supply chain, providing farmers with direct market access, besides weather, water and soil management services. [Read more]