Professional Documents
Culture Documents
July 2019
Topic Page No.
01 Executive Summary 04
Table of
Content 02 Agritech Industry Summary 2018-19 06
05 Case Studies 25
2
Research Methodology Start-Up
Case Studies
Investors
NASSCOM Public Sources
Media Articles
Expert Interviews
+
Online Survey
3
Executive Summary
4
Foreword
We hope you find this study useful, and we The preparation of this report has been made possible with information from various sources and
welcome your feedback and comments. assistance from institutions, enterprises, and start-ups in India who have given their time and
insights to the research team. We wish to sincerely thank all of them for their valuable contributions
Debjani Ghosh without which this report would not have been possible.
President, NASSCOM
5
Agritech India Industry Summary (2018)
Top 5 Funded Start-ups (2018)
~35 start-ups
established in 2018 35 27 14 9 8
USD Mn USD Mn USD Mn USD Mn USD Mn
Top 5 Investors
>70% of funding at
>60% funding to
Seed stage
market linkage
sector
Top 5 Investors
8
Untapped Agritech opportunity – Scalable Interventions
Agriculture sector employs 50% of India’s workforce but India ranks among top 5 countries in food processing. By 2024, the
contributes only 18% of the GDP. Solutions that enable farm sector will employ 9 mn. Organised sector has only 60% share.
automation and aggregation will rationalize and gainfully Streamlining and traceability can improve farmer income and exports.
redistribute the workforce.
Mandis and FPOs need digitization to bring more 80% of India’s fresh water is used in agriculture. Similar figures for
transparency into transactions. Farmers need more sales China are 65% and 70% globally. Reduction in usage of water and
channels. Data and market connects can empower each pesticides is a significant business opportunity.
stakeholder.
The Digital Infrastructure
Streamlining Supply Chain Example: farMART, Gramcover
Example: Yuktix, Agrostar
There is an acute lack of data and insights at ground and farmer level.
Along with laying the digital work, solutions that build a layer of data
Post harvest loss in India amounts to USD 13 billion. Demand
will transform DBT schemes, insurance and loan disbursal.
driven cold chains, warehouse monitoring solutions and market
linkage can significantly increase farmer incomes.
Consumer/Farmer Government
NASSCOM Agritech CEO Survey 2019
Source : NASSCOM Agritech CEO Survey 11
Unlike other sectors, Agritech is make in India for the world
Global India
Every 9th Agritech startup in the
world is from India.
Start-ups 3103 450
13
Market Linkage: Improving Supply Chain Illustrative
Landscape
Market Linkage provides a digital platform
which connect farm output with the customer,
it is one of the most easy way to take farmers
products directly to the end customer
Impact Impact
Engaged with nearly 2 mn farmers holding 3 mn acres of land AgNext has raised around USD 4 mn in funding in the
in farm management, crop cycle monitoring, harvest and last 12 months
product traceability
Tech Intervention Mobile apps, Analytics, ecommerce Value Proposition Quality Product Supply
Business Attractiveness
Access to Quality seeds: Quality of Quality Fertilizers: 70% agriculture growth Offer door to door delivery, makes farmers
seed accounts for 20%-25% of productivity depends on fertilizer quality more interested in this business area
Tech Intervention App based platforms, analytics, data science Value Proposition Easy Access to Finance
Business Attractiveness
Raising funds, the biggest A solution for millions, hence Farmers do not have good credit history which makes it
challenge of Indian farmers scalable difficult for them to raise funds through traditional channels
Key Challenges for Indian Agritech Firms ~40% of Agritech founders feel that raising funds is
the biggest challenge
• Funding in H1 2019 is more than H1 2018 funding
• Convincing investors on customer traction remains a
challenge as exits seem long drawn
• Agritech based solutions take time to scale and require a
39% 29% 20% 12% mindset change from VCs
Countries
26
USA Countries
11
CEOs have managed to generate Middle East
30% revenue from global markets
Africa
opportunity
NASSCOM Agritech CEO Survey 2019 Key Global Markets for Indian Agritech firms
25
Solution
Fasal is an AI-powered IoT platform that uses artificial intelligence and data science to make on-farm
predictions and delivers actionable insights and recommendations to farmers to grow more and grow
better. FASAL helps in,
* Irrigation management, pest and disease management, fertiliser, fungicide and pesticide application
management.
* Getting real-time alerts about crop, soil and weather conditions to make adjustments to reach optimal
growth conditions.
* Planning specific strategies and predicting disease and virus outbreak.
Projects
Fasal works in pre-harvest value chain of food production with aim to reduce the input cost in terms of Water, Chemical usage
Improve crop quality and crop yield. Farmers were able to:
Active Regions
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, M.P., Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh.
26
Solution
BharatRohan helps farmers attain their greatest potential using Hyperspectral remote sensing- based Decision
Support System (DSS). The BharatRohan CropAssureTM is a subscription-based service package that provides
support to the farmers from sowing to post-harvest, with periodic alerts on early diagnosis of pests infestation,
disease outbreaks and supports in cultivation through IPM practices. This service also helps food companies
procure pesticide residue free or IPM agriculture-produce for which they pay good incentives to the farmers.
Project
Peppermint Cropping System in Barabanki
BharatRohan is working on Mentha cropping system which is a very significant revenue source for the farmers
in Uttar Pradesh where 90% of India’s Mentha is cultivated and exported. The cropping system involves
Mentha, paddy and potato crop. BharatRohan is building spectral libraries in association with CSIR-Central
institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. CSIR-CIMAP handles the microscopic inoculation of
pathogens in controlled conditions. The phenological/biochemical changes are then used to generate a
comprehensive spectral library which are then correlated with and applied on Drone/UAV based
Hyperspectral Data acquired from farmers field using various proprietary unmixing models.
27
Solution
FOODPRINT™ is a produce aggregation and food traceability solution which aggregates the farm produce and
implements food traceability using technology such as blockchain to capture the information of the produce at
various points in the supply chain such as production, processing and distribution. Our farmers use our mobility
enabled technology on the field to track the produce from sowing until harvesting and our co-ops/FPOs track the
post-harvest process until sales and buyers eventually get complete traceability and journey of the food on the
blockchain via a simple QR code.
Project
Aflatoxin Free Maize
They are technology partners for a PPP-IAD (Public Private Partnership for Integrated Agriculture Development) project
in Belgaum dist. of Karnataka . The project is led by an NGO which works with the FPO (Over 1000 farmers) for aflatoxin
free production of Maize. One of world’s largest maize company is the Maize buyer in the PPP consortium.
They are working with India’s leading consumer brand for spices and readyto- eat food company in sustainable
production and procurement of authentic, traceable Byadagi Chillies on our platform. They are the technology partner
in the project where we work alongside them with an FPO in Dharwad dist. of Karnataka.
Active Regions
Product Name FOODPRINT™ By Jivabhumi
Karnataka
28
Solution
‘APMC Manchar’ is an application and complete digital solution made for APMC Manchar, Pune, Maharashtra.
The objective was to design complete end to end process digitally and by-pass handwritten receipts. Creating a
transparent institutional ledger that updates real-time and the information is updated every stake holder of
APMC.
Beneficiaries- Farmers, APMC institution, Labourers, Traders, Agmarknet (Database at Govt. of India), Agriculture
analysts
Project
Objectives-
• Digitization of auctioning process of agri commodities.
• Real-time data entries without impacting speed of operational processes such as handling, weighing,
pricing, digital receipt print etc.
• To save cost of stationary used for receipts and avoid manipulation due to hand written entries
• To have an easy and automated accountancy and know each details of every auction
• To increase revenue through transparency in trade accountancy.
• To deliver SMS alerts to each farmer participating in auction, real-time, through system.
• To communicate trade entries, auction prices (Min, Max, Average) for each crop auctioned, to, MSAMB/
Agmarknet, without any flaw.
Project
Coffee Board Of India: Integrated Development Programme for Coffee and Black Pepper Produced By Soliga Tribal
community– Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka
This project is being taken up by Coffee Board in collaboration with the Department of Tribal Welfare, Government of
Karnataka. Soliga farmers were earlier selling their produce to open markets through agents and were not able to
obtain premium prices for the chemical-free coffee beans. ESE Agri solution was used to capture the socio-economic
details of the farmers, geo tag their plantations, capture inputs used for growing coffee, capture farmer trainings,
Internal Control Systems for NPOP & UTZ certifications, crop stage interventions and providing necessary advisory
services to the farmers, along with solutions like traceability, procurement, etc.
Active Regions
26 countries
30
Solution
Mobile based Coffee White Stem Borer identification app
Project
Objectives:
• Identification and early detection of the WSB infested coffee plants for taking timely corrective measures.
Achievements:
10 Scientists / Extension Officers tested the application for 8 months during the pilot. The pilot study results indicated
around 90% accuracy level in identification of the pest
Active Regions
Karnataka
Product Name Pest Identification app
31
Solution
Government of Kenya & Ethiopia, through the World Bank, decided to implement an ICT based agro-weather
advisory system. The overall objective of this study was to develop web and mobile-phone based agro-weather
tools that incorporate climate-information and best-bet agronomic management recommendations for the
farmers. These tools will help farmers to plan and manage weather risks, maximize productivity, and minimize
the environmental impacts of farming practices.
Project
A web-based application of agro-weather Decision Support System (DSS) was created with an aim to develop and
disseminate information on farming practices and alerts focusing on decisions linked to weather forecasts during
cropping seasons for local application. Once a farmer registers on the system, the farmer automatically receives alerts
throughout the cropping season.
Once the advisory is generated on the web platform, it is automatically sent to the mobile numbers of all farmers after
translation into local languages. Additionally, a mobile app also helps to disseminate the advisory with the only
limitation that incase of this mobile application, the user needs to have access to mobile data. In addition to the
advisory, the user also receives weather maps. 4000 farmers enrolled in the very first season of the implementation.
Product Name RMSI Pvt. Ltd.
Active Regions
Technology Used Rendering: Mobile & Web based Kenya and Ethiopia – Embu district of Kenya and Ada’a district of Ethiopia
Back-end development: asp .net
Relational Databases: PostgreSQL
Front-end development: : .net,
JSON Graphic Design: CSS, Adobe
Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
32
Solution
Samudra Network has two solutions. The first solution is a FPO Digitization solution which includes mobile
applications and dashboards for the FPO / Federation / Co-Operative staff and directors to manage daily
operations like Shareholder/Member tracking, Farm Input Sales, Stock & Inventory management, Farm Output
sales and demands from buyers. The second solution we are developing is an Agri Market Network to connect
the FPOs to the wider ecosystem of wholesale buyers, agri finance companies, inputs suppliers, logistics via
market linkages and key partner relationships.
Project
FPO Digitization solution is deployed with 15 Farmer Producer companies in Karnataka active in Kunigal, Gubbi,
Tumkuru & Nagamangala taluks . These FPOs are using the solution to manage their shareholder member information,
daily Input Sales, keep track of their Stock , Inventory and Purchase Indents and also start tracking harvest and produce
which their shareholder farmers are growing to be able to initiate discussions with buyers.
FPOs are able to make operations better by looking into real time insight dashboards & reports around Sales (most
popular products, cash vs credit, monthly trends etc) Outstanding Credit Balance, Cash Collection details and Stock
Inventory status, Available Stock & Outport crop forecasts, sales trends etc.
Active Regions
Product Name Samudra Network Kunigal, Gubbi, Tumkuru & Nagamangala taluks in Karnataka.
33
Solution
Blockchain based market place for Indian Coffee
Project
Objectives:
Achievements:
100 coffee farmers, 15 Exporters / Roasters are using the platform
Active Regions
Farmer Connect Blockchain
Product Name Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu
App
Technology Used Ethyrium Blockchain
34
Solution
FarmMOJO monitors the real-time production data gathered from the farms through the mobile application
interface. Based on the pond level production data, their prediction model uses the deep learning algorithm to
provide context sensitive suggestions and alerts to improve the water quality parameters, feed consumption
pattern and health management. Thus it simplifies the farm operations for the farmer and improves the
efficiency, predictability and transparency. Their Farm care ML algorithm analyses the performance of
competitive farm care products (Feed, Probiotics , Minerals) based on their past performance and provides
recommendation to the farmers.
Project
FarmMojo is location-aware, context-aware which shall help us offer relevant products at the right intervention.
FarmMojo also effectively connects them with up-streams (Processors, Certifying bodies) and down streams( Feed and
healthcare producers) of the shrimp supply chain.
With FarmMOJO data intelligence, we aim to connect farmers with formal financial institutions to enable financial
products and crop insurance. Processors and Certifying bodies could leverage our data intelligence for sustainable
procurement with traceability information.
They have entered an agreement with Solidaridad’s Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative in Orissa to provide data-driven
shrimp farming advisory services to 2000 hectares.
35
Key Contributors
36
About
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM®) is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry
in India and comprises over 2800-member companies including both Indian and multinational organisations that have a presence in India. Our
membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from start-ups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Service Centers to
Engineering firms. Guided by India’s vision to become a leading digital economy globally, NASSCOM focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation
of the industry to emerge as the preferred enablers for global digital transformation. Our strategic imperatives are to reskill and upskill India’s IT
workforce to ensure that talent is future-ready in terms of new-age skills, strengthen the innovation quotient across industry verticals, create new
market opportunities - both international and domestic, drive policy advocacy to advance innovation and ease of doing business, and build the
Industry narrative with focus on Talent, Trust and Innovation. And, in everything we do, we will continue to champion the need for diversity and equal
opportunity. NASSCOM has played a key role in not just the growth of the Industry to become a $180+Billion industry today, but we have helped
establish the Tech industry in India as one of the most trusted partners, globally. NASSCOM continues to make significant efforts in contributing
towards India’s GDP, exports, employment, infrastructure development and global visibility. Our membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry
revenues in India and employs over 4 million professionals, and as technology blends into every aspect of the economy, we expect the industry to
become key driver of growth, development and inclusion for the country. Our mission is to make India a global hub for Innovation and Talent so when
the world thinks Digital, the world will think India.
Disclaimer
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. NASSCOM
disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. NASSCOM
shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein, or for
interpretations thereof.
The material in this publication is copyrighted. No part of this report can be reproduced either on paper or
electronic media without permission in writing from NASSCOM. Request for permission to reproduce any
part of the report may be sent to NASSCOM.
Usage of Information
Forwarding/copy/using in publications without approval from NASSCOM will be considered as
infringement of intellectual property rights.
37
36
Thank you
38