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Overall scenario of agritech in India by 2030 looks promising
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Monday, 23 January, 2023, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Debarshi Dutta
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The future of agritech in India depends on the willingness and willpower to overcome the various obstacles that may come the way for mass adoption of agritech practices. Agriculture accounts for 18.8% of the nation’s GDP. The current scenario of Indian agriculture mainly depends on the hard work of our farmers instead I would prefer calling them agri entrepreneurs. With the change in time and the evolution of new technology, India is also adapting to the technological changes in agriculture.Marginal farmers in rural India are still finding it difficult to scale their produce and enhance their profitability. They are also facing a challenge in adapting to technology and mechanisation. Looking forward at 2030, adoption of technology, new methods and practices, and mechanisation of agriculture will be the new norms. Today, technology is used majorly in agriculture for mapping, monitoring farm output by insurance companies and financial institutions or government bodies. Agritechs and new-age companies are focussing on agriculture mechanisation as well.
India's agricultural landscape is changing and gradually adopting new farming techniques for operational efficiencies and transparency. The new-age companies or agritech firms have to play a pivotal role in reducing the strain on agri entrepreneurs by digitising the entire supply chain using cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, big data analytics, and engineering breakthroughs also leading to positive impact on climate changes. At present, our government is launching new initiatives to improve the livelihoods of agri entrepreneurs, increase their income, and help them adopt to new technologies. The investor segment is also bullish on agritech and India is building its reputation as a food bowl.
Amongst the future's most exciting developments are the digitisation of supply chain for commodities, integration of transaction systems & processes with real-time data, and artificial intelligence-enabled real-time supply and demand monitoring for post-harvest produce. In India, this is presently at a very nascent stage. The future of agritech will be dependent on agri-storage solutions which will use more technology, modular approach, adaptable and delivering traceability and quality solutions with transparency.
The agritech revolution in India is still in the formative stages of adoption. It requires for considerate views from all stakeholders and a focussed approach in increasing the usage of emerging technology and innovative solutions throughout the value chain for better productivity and output. One of the critical benefits of agritech is that it provides innovative ideas and low-cost solutions aiming to improve the income of agri entrepreneurs while also keeping a focus on the climate changes and its impact. Agritech platforms are currently working to address the critical challenges faced by agri entrepreneurs like providing them with better market linkages,improved supply chain management and better infrastructures. As technology has evolved, with the help of smartphones now agri entrepreneurs can gather more information about weather, trends, better agricultural practices, necessary interventions and so on. Government initiatives in rural areas also enable agritech platforms to support the farming community and add value to the nation's economic growth.
By 2030, technology will play a very crucial role in shaping the future of agritech in India. Agritech start-ups are addressing industry pain issues with a highly data-driven approach along with mechanisation and adoption of new practices. With the usage of cutting-edge technology like AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning) and data analytics and increasing smartphone adoption by rural India, agritech start-ups would be able to make decision making, market linkages and adoption to new technology with access to information simpler and easier for agri entrepreneurs to understand and adopt. With all said, the journey will not be easy, a lot of efforts need to be put in by both government establishment and new-age companies to reach out to the agri entrepreneurs and explain the advantages of adopting the robust futuristic technologies including mechanisation. With adoption by agri entrepreneurs an effective transformation of the Indian agriculture system along with fair market access for all parties can be established. Agritech is ensuring to cut down the role of these middlemen and channelising the produce of agri entrepreneurs in an efficient manner.
The future appears to be bright for agritech. New practices, including embedded financing products needs to be developed and made available at the right price point for the business growth and sustainability of this sector.With the growing demand and increasing global population, which is likely to touch 10 billion by 2050, India can become one of the food bowls of the globe.With new experiments in vertical, hydroponic, and contemporary greenhouse techniques agriculture can be more productive, with improved quality and capacity to serve more.Agritech will play a crucial role in keeping an eye on the climate changes and how to maximise the agricultural benefit with reducing the impact on climate change viz., lesser carbon footprints, regeneration or betterment of soil in a natural manner and other ecological benefits.
India is a young country with a huge population below 35 years of age. It is essential to motivate our youths to be a part of the agritech revolution of our country and to take agritech to new heights in the coming years. The most significant way to inspire youth to enter agriculture is to showcase the immense scope, growth possibilities, resource-rich terrain of the country, and involvement of current roles in research and development, technology, and mechanisation in agriculture. Agritech start-ups are poised to use modern solutions to bring back the glory of agri entrepreneurs around the nation in light of these developments, and the coming generation can take a massive step in making this a reality. The vision needs to be clear, which is to make India more and more structured and sustainable in agriculture with a focus on climate change and adoption of best practices.
It looks very promising while we speak and hear about the overall scenario of agritech in India by 2030. We must keep moving towards our goals and ensure that whatever basic structure we are laying down today has the potential to change the fate of Indian agriculture and agri entrepreneurs.
(The author is CEO, co-founder at Ayekart)
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