Agtech foreign expansion & incoming business: Helping the farmer within & beyond shores

With the realization that the farmer is one of the most crucial aspects of any economy, technology companies and government agencies are working to ease the process of agriculture to make it more sustainable as well as digitally strong. For the same, foreign companies have stepped into India’s agtech ecosystem.

For example, in April, Bayer AG, German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, tied up with Gram Unnati and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)’s Common Service Center (CSC-SPV), a strategic cornerstone of the National e-governance plan which aims to usher rural India into a digitally empowered era and foster a knowledge-based economy.

Read more: EV is pretty big in India, but it could get even bigger

The strategic collaboration aims to provide Indian farmers with access to quality agri-inputs through digital capability building and strengthen rural livelihoods and farm incomes. The partnership will support farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and a few other states in the first phase of execution. Besides access to the entire range of Bayer’s agri-solutions from seed to harvest, farmers can also avail of crop-specific agronomic advisory through CSC’s online platform and market access through Gram Unnati.

As part of the MoU, Smallholder farmers will be able to access timely crop advisory, transfer of good agricultural practices and access to premium Bayer products through CSC’s online portal. Gram Unnati will facilitate farmer mobilization and ensure market linkages. Together, Bayer, CSC-SPV & Gram Unnati aim to empower over 500,000 (0.5 million) smallholder farmers over the next two years. To facilitate easy access to quality inputs, agronomic support, and encourage agri-technology knowledge transfer based on the latest practices, Bayer will also nurture agri-entrepreneurs by leveraging village-level entrepreneurs of CSCs from within the local communities.

Our association with the Government of India’s Common Service Center and Gram Unnati will help bring us closer to our shared goal of empowering farmers as we bridge the gap to remote farming communities, promote financial literacy and foster an entrepreneurial spirit leading to optimized resource utilization, and maximizing farm potential to enhance their livelihoods sustainably

Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, President, Bayer, South Asia & Country Divisional Head, Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka

Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, President, Bayer, South Asia & Country Divisional Head, Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, said, “Our association with the Government of India’s Common Service Center and Gram Unnati will help bring us closer to our shared goal of empowering farmers as we bridge the gap to remote farming communities, promote financial literacy and foster an entrepreneurial spirit leading to optimized resource utilization, and maximizing farm potential to enhance their livelihoods sustainably.” 

The CSC scheme, a collaborative e-governance platform, is part of the Digital India program. The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) aims to facilitate the delivery of government, private and social sector services to Indian citizens through the CSC network. It supports linkages, connecting villages in India through high-speed internet and scaling the delivery of products & services to reach the last mile.

It also offers a robust project platform for ‘Better Life Farming Alliance’ led by Bayer CropScience Limited, through which the company can further contribute to sustainable income enhancement while promoting market-oriented agriculture practices and services amongst smallholder farmers.

Under the partnership, Bayer will also facilitate women-focused training on financial literacy, management and agri-business practices. Furthermore, the company aims to strengthen the capacities of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) in alignment with their needs to enhance business and financial management. The collaboration will also support the scaling up and increased adoption of Bayer’s digital interventions amongst smallholder farmers, across the country.

The newly announced partnership follows an ongoing pilot engagement project running between Better Life Farming centres and CSC in Jharkhand’s Lohardega district since late 2020.

However, it’s not just Indian farmers that seek digital help. Globally, many countries still require the facilitation of digital aid to prosper. In February, Entlaq, Cairo-based entrepreneurship think tank tied up with Ninjacart, the Indian agri-startup to identify and support promising Farm-to-Fork agri startups in Egypt.

The partnership specifically focuses on efficient supply chain management through advanced technology, connecting farmers directly to markets in Egypt. It also emphasizes implementing data-driven agriculture, ensuring quality assurance and certification, fostering financial inclusion across the agri value chain, expanding marketplaces, and reducing waste.

With the agriculture sector employing 29.2% of the workforce and contributing 11.3-13.6% to the GDP (approximately EGP 400 billion), the scope for agritech is vast

Omar Rezk, Co-founder and Managing Director of Strategy and Consulting, Entlaq

Omar Rezk, Co-founder and Managing Director of Strategy and Consulting, Entlaq, said “With the agriculture sector employing 29.2% of the workforce and contributing 11.3-13.6% to the GDP (approximately EGP 400 billion), the scope for agritech is vast. Entlaq’s vision is to catalyse Egypt’s position as a regional innovation hub, empowering startups and contributing significantly to the thriving agritech landscape. This collaboration with Ninjacart has set us on the track to achieve this goal promising a future characterized by technological innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth achieving Egypt’s 2030 Vision.”

Last September, Ninjacart also tied up with Arado, formerly known as Clicampo, an agribusiness marketplace based in Brazil to introduce Ninjacart’s tech platform, supply chain management solutions, and advisory services to the Brazilian market.

Another tie up of Ninjacart last year was with Philippine B2B agritech Mayani so the Indian agtech startup can deploy capital alongside cutting-edge supply chain technology and its advisory services to fuel Mayani’s innovation and growth trajectory. Ninjacart will also support Mayani’s expansion efforts and jointly establish an integrated Asian agri-food supply chain that would catalyze more digital innovations geared to address Asia’s complex food basket.

By bridging the expertise of two agricultural powerhouses, India and the Philippines, we aim to create a transformative impact and unlock new opportunities in the Asian agri-commerce landscape and beyond

Kartheeswaran K K, Co-Founder & CEO, Ninjacart

Kartheeswaran K K, Co-Founder & CEO, Ninjacart, said, “By bridging the expertise of two agricultural powerhouses, India and the Philippines, we aim to create a transformative impact and unlock new opportunities in the Asian agri-commerce landscape and beyond.”

Indian agtech has also reached Greece. In November, the Government of Greece discussed with India’s FMCG company BL Agro to explore strategic partnership in adoption of agriculture technology, exchange of skilled manpower, promote agri trade, animal science, and steps to mitigating climate change.

We also want to have deeper interactions with India in the field of agriculture and animal sciences. The entire value chain of farmers in India and Greece should benefit from this strategic partnership

Eleftherious Avgenakis, Minister of Rural Development and Food, Greece

Minister of Rural Development and Food of the Hellenic Republic Eleftherious Avgenakis said, “We want to deepen trade ties with India. We also want to have deeper interactions with India in the field of agriculture and animal sciences. The entire value chain of farmers in India and Greece should benefit from this strategic partnership,”

Read more: Global & Indian oncology innovation thrives despite funding dip

Navneet Ravikar, Chairman and MD, Leads Connect Services, who was part of the discussion, said, “The Honourable Minister is very keen on understanding how we can provide better skilled manpower to Greece, better agriculture technology and methods in mitigating climate change. Secondly, it was also about how India can help Greece build better agriculture and veterinary institutions.”

Recently, BL Agro formed a JV with Greece-based Salas International Group, one of the largest aid providing firms in Europe, to provide food kits in disaster-struck areas. Ravikar also said Leads Connect has tied up with JOIST Innovation Park, a Greek startup incubator firm, to bring funds into India for tech startups.