New Delhi: In the era of digitalization, leveraging technology for the benefit of agriculture is indispensable. The budget should allocate resources for digitizing agricultural extension services, providing farmers with access to real-time market information, and fostering the adoption of precision farming techniques to optimize resource use and enhance productivity.
Among the key asks are increasing digital adoption; strengthening food processing value chain; improving post-harvest infrastructure; and boosting the export ecosystem.
Sharing his comments, Suhas Baxi, Co-Founder and CEO, BioFuelCircle said, “We have seen significant policy initiatives and matching investment commitments in Bioenergy sector in the past couple of years. The growth in this sector will demand stronger rural businesses, and naturally need a big base of skilled workforce. I would love to see a push towards vocational skill development in rural areas along with rural entrepreneurship development focus in the upcoming budget. This holistic approach can pave the way for sustainable development, fostering a resilient ecosystem that aligns economic growth with environmental consciousness.”
Anil Kumar SG, Founder and CEO, Samunnati said, “The agriculture sector, especially smallholder farmers in various crop and allied sector value chains require access to timely and affordable finance, to keep up with rapidly evolving technology, tap changing consumer demand and improve the quality of their land and other productive assets.”
“While the banking and cooperative sectors have done admirable work in channeling institutional finance to the agri sector, these efforts have to be supplemented by NBFCs, MFIs and other smaller players. It’s important to keep these supplementary channels supported with bulk funds from wholesale credit providers. The cost and terms of these funds must also be reasonable to encourage a larger number of players and innovation in this space,” Kumar added.
Shashank Singh, Co-Founder at Poshn said, “Agriculture remains a critical cog in the economic growth and our food sustainability. We are expecting the budget to announce a slew of policies supporting the startup ecosystem around agritech. We also expect programs which could bridge the gap between the entrepreneurs and the farmers at the grass root level by creating more incubator programs and providing fund support for the same.
Sudhanshu Rai, Co-Founder at Fyllo said, “Agriculture is the backbone of the country with 15% contribution to the GDP and 120 Mn grower farmers. The horticulture sector contributes to 33% of the agriculture GDP with 16% of the sowing area. We rank second in fruits and vegetable production in the world but our share in the global market is just 1%. This is the sector if worked well, can increase the farmers income to INR 2.5 Lacs/acre and increase the country GDP/exports. The challenges that we face are mainly in the quality standard of global market These challenges could be solved using digital technologies like farm IoT and bringing new verities. The farm IoT coupled with mobile app doesn’t only help farmers grow export quality produce but help them reduce the usage of fertilizers by 25% and irrigation by 40% (over and above the drip irrigation). We spend ~2Lac crores on fertilizers subsidy and much more on power subsidy and irrigation systems like canals etc. If we restructure it and support with farm IoT we could be saving double than the incentives given to farmers to adapt farm IoTs.”
Anand Ramanathan, Partner and Consumer, Products and Retail sector Leader, Deloitte said: “The tech-powered agriculture industry is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 13.5 billion by 2023. Additionally, the role of AI in agriculture is anticipated to reach US$ 4 billion by 2026. The government recently announced the development of Digital Public Agriculture Infrastructure and an Agriculture Accelerator Fund (AIF), to foster farmer-centric solutions, nurture Agri-Tech growth, and encourage Agri-startups in rural areas.”
“The government should aim to increase digital adoption by suitable interventions focusing on educating stakeholders, improving tech affordability and accessibility, increasing investments in R&D,” Ramanathan added.
“The government should focus on last mile reach of the benefits of ‘Agristack’ as Agristack aims to furnish real-time and accurate data regarding markets, schemes, logistics, warehousing, and market access (e-NAM and marketing channels). This integrated ecosystem should function as a comprehensive repository of farmer information, encompassing data on soil conditions, crop specifics, and land records, accessible across different states. The government should encourage the creation of storage, grading, and cooling units near mandis, airports, etc. Under AIF and similar schemes, the government can incentivize development of these units. Further, capacity building at these locations will foster grade-based pricing of produce, reduction in transportation cost, and a decline in distress selling,” said Ramanathan as he shares his set of recommendations.
