India is an agriculture-based country with many people growing crops as their primary source of income. Interestingly, about sixty per cent of households in rural areas do farming. The use of traditional equipment and old agricultural practices were the reasons for the poor condition of farmers in the past. However, farmers in India have started adopting modern technology and advanced farming techniques. As a result, this has led to massive growth in the agriculture sector and given rise to numerous agriculture startups in India.
Farming is a booming area currently and offers high profits. Moreover, the Indian government is encouraging the startup culture. Hence, many new agriculture startups in India are coming up with diverse types of services for farmers. Let’s learn about the best agriculture startups in India in this blog.
Top Agriculture Startups In India
1. DeHaat
It is an AgriTech startup that gives a facility to farmers to gain access to products, solutions, and services they need. Firstly, it helps them to contact customers and sellers directly. In addition, Dehaat helps farmers in listing their products for sale online. Shashank Kumar & Manish Kumar started Dehaat in 2012. It is among the most well-renowned agriculture startups in India. The other co-founders are Adarsh Srivastava, Amrendra Singh, and Shyam Sundar. The headquarters of DeHaat is in Patna, Bihar, with 61-100 employees.
The company provides technological solutions and assistance to farmers. Its target customers are individual farmers and businesses in the agriculture sector. Also, there is a strong community of 1.5 million farmers in DeHaat. The company operates in eleven states of India.
Additionally, it offers services like soil testing, access to financial services, personalized advisory, selling agro products, and crop insurance. Shashank Kumar says,
“This is a multi-billion-dollar industry. However, stakeholders and businesses in the sector struggle to reach out to farmers. DeHaat as a solution is a business-to-farmer platform which brings agri-businesses and farmers closer to each other efficiently and transparently.”
2. Apna Godam
Sanjay Agarwal and Rekha started Apna Godam in 2016 in Jaipur. It operates with 61-100 employees. The platform has an online mandi or marketplace for selling farmer produce in Rajasthan, India. In addition, they offer services for warehousing and logistics. Also, the farmers who need finance can apply for it and get financial aid. Its offerings include:
- The online store helps a farmer sell directly to customers in India.
- They have an app that is easy to use and convenient for farmers and buyers. It is like an e-mandi, an online store selling agricultural products to any part of India. In addition, the company offers online booking of storage space and online trading.
- They help in the management of logistics and inventory.
3. Crofarm
Prashant Jain, along with Varun Khurana, launched Crofarm in 2016. It is among the best agriculture startups in India, with 41-60 employees. It follows a B2B business model with clients like Big Bazaar and BigBasket. In addition, they supply farming produce to Reliance Retail and Grofers. Notably, the startup uses AI-based services for supply chain management. Also, it has AI-enabled logistics.
Additionally, stores and retailers who want to buy farm produce use digital technology to buy it directly from farmers on the platform. Moreover, Crofarm sells fruits and vegetables at an affordable cost online and offline. It has a facility for handling perishable foods to minimize wastage. Varun Khurana said,
“Our revenue model is pretty simple — we procure fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers and deliver them to retailers after marking them up with our margins. Our only direct competitor is the mandi and we are better by at least 10 times,”
4. KhetiGaadi
Pravin Shinde and Vishnu Dhas started KhetiGaadi in 2016. Interestingly, the online Agri commerce platform has a turnover of $6.7M per annum. It is among the top-growing agriculture startups in India.
Fifty thousand-plus farmers use KhetiGaadi. In addition, they are connected to agriculture experts, contractors, and dealers.
Secondly, users can contact tractor dealers and service stations through the portal. They sell used and new tractors; they can buy them online if anyone needs a tractor. In addition, you can also sell off your old and used farm machinery on the website.
Notably, the startup offers finance options like loans and insurance to farmers. Lastly, the mobile app KhetiGuru is available in multiple languages and is easy to use. Moreover, the app lets farmers know the latest tractor news and information about current weather.
5. Bombay Hemp Company
The company makes and sells industrial hemp for use in food and garments. Jahan Peston Jamas, Sumit Shah, Delzaad Deolaliwala, and Yash Kotak launched the startup in 2013 in Mumbai. The other co-founders are Sanvar Oberoi, Avnish Pandya, and Chirag Tekchandaney. The company has about 21-40 employees.
Interestingly, there are multiple uses for industrial hemp or cannabis sativa, a legal crop in many parts of the world. Hemp is useful for making paper, detergent, and food. In addition, it helps in making jeans and fuel. Notably, the Bombay Hemp Company manufactures and sells garments made with hemp. Moreover, it makes fibre from the hemp plant and turns it into finished clothing.
6. FreshoKartz
Rajendra Lora, together with Chandrakanta Sahu, launched the startup in 2016. Interestingly, it follows a B2B and B2C business model. The Jaipur-based company is one of the top agriculture startups in India, with a staff of 61 to 100 people. Its offerings include:
- It offers an online platform where the farming community can buy things needed to grow crops. And that includes products like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
- You can get home delivery of the products you buy from their online store at your address or your chosen location. So you can get your order delivered to your doorstep. In addition, the store accepts orders by phone.
- More than ten thousand products are listed for sale in the web portal of FreshoKartz.
Low-income farmers are the target customers of the company.
7. Aibono
Vivek Rajkumar founded the company in 2014 in Bangalore. It has about 41-60 employees. Notably, Aibono offers technology and intelligence services to increase farmers’ production. Farmers find their farm management services highly useful. Interestingly, the suggestions given by Aibono are based on data science and have helped increase farm yield by 50 per cent. In addition, many farmers and retailers are associated with the startup. Moreover, farmers can sell their produce to grocery stores and retailers through Aibono.
8. BharatAgri
The Bangalore-based company was started in 2017 and has 21-40 employees. Sai Gole and Siddharth Dialani founded it. Notably, the company aims to offer personalized consultancy to farmers:
- Farmers who use their platform learn farming methods on their platform. In addition, they gain knowledge of pesticides, soil testing, cost analysis, and the importance of weather in agriculture.
- The data science-backed suggestions help increase the output and profit manifold.
- The app BharatAgri offers AI services for agriculture.
Users need to get a subscription to the app. In addition, farmers get suggestions for scientific farming methods on the app.
9. Nuziveedu Seeds
The company manufactures seeds and offers its services in seventeen states of India. Nuziveedu Seeds was founded in 1973 in Hyderabad by Shri Mandava Venkat Ramaiah. It is among the renowned agriculture startups in India, with about 5.5 million plus agriculturists using the services of this company.
- It makes and sells hybrid cotton, mustard, sunflower, maize, bajra, and other types of seeds.
- It grows crops like jute, maize, rice, sorghum, pearl millet, and others. In addition, they grow vegetables. In addition, the company has the best crop breeding program that helps grow genetically advanced crop varieties.
- The crops undergo commercial testing on the farm before they are listed for sale.
Notably, Nuziveedu Seeds receives the Research & Development excellence award. It was given the award in 2002. The private company earns a high profit.
10. BigHaat
The company was started in 2015 in Bangalore by Raj Kancham and other founders, Sateesh Nukala and Sachin Nandwana. About 21-40 people are working in BigHaat. Secondly, the online platform helps people from the farming community connect with other farmers and learn from each other. Users can get information on agriculture from others in the online forum and increase their knowledge. In addition, BigHaat offers the best consultancy service to agriculturists. It is a global platform for selling farming products.
Moreover, farmers can get help to repair and maintain the machines they use on their farms. Notably, the web portal of BigHaat sells seeds, insecticides, animal repellents, crop nutrition, and farm machinery. It offers the best service for agri inputs and crop advisory. Additionally, farmers can join the BigHaat group on social media and be a part of their community.
Conclusion
In conclusion, agriculture startups in India are doing a great job. They are helping to solve common problems faced by agriculturists. As a result of the services of startups and government initiatives, farmers successfully increase their income. In addition, they are getting a high profit from the products they sell. Notably, the top agriculture startups in India offer online marketplaces where farmers can sell directly to customers without an intermediary. They help farmers to get access to consultancy services.
Additionally, farmers can learn about the latest farming techniques, ways of crop protection, and the latest weather updates on the app. The future of agriculture seems bright as the agriculture startups in India continue doing their good work and helping farmers grow.
