People are now focusing on startups. In every area like agriculture, small trades, marketing, education, healthcare, and so many other areas are also involved in this aspect. The Startups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs who want to develop their product or service for which they believe that there is a demand. In India agriculture is more a way of life than a mode of life. The agricultural sector remains highly unorganized, afflicted by a host of problems. But now the trend is going to change by the adoption of technology.
Many startups have emerged with their innovative ideas to revolutionize this sector. Now the Agri startup uses the franchise route to smart fields. DeHaat is one of the fastest-growing startups in the Agri sector, they provide end-to-end solutions and services to the farming community in India. They are building AI-enabled technologies to revolutionize the supply chain and production efficiency in the farming sector. This was founded by the alumni from IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIM Ahmedabad, and from other top institutes. They provide solutions to farmers, Micro-Entrepreneur, and for Institutional-Buyers.
Farmers are very much aware of the way of cultivation but they might be some steps backward regarding their selection regarding which plant should they cultivate or is it feasible for cultivation based on their land location, the fertility of the soil, etc. They were not much aware of the technical aspects behind this. During 2011 the farmers of Vaishali were stuck with some kinds of problems based on their cultivation. The farmers were cultivated Wheat and the engineer grads tried the farmers to persuade farmers to switch to the red key beans or rajma. They made certain studies on that area and arrived at a conclusion regarding which crop is better in that particular locality. They depict that the irrigation and labour costs for rajma would be lower, and the crop cycle shorter. That was the first bud of what grew into the startup DeHaat. They provide advisory services to farmers and market linkages. After that they tied up with certain input companies to provides seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers, assuring them reliable products at fair prices.
The franchise model looks to scale up and maintain the level of engagement with the farmers, they make connections with micro-entrepreneurs in small towns and villages run these franchises. Farmers can access the necessary information’s from DeHaat mobile app and call centers as well as centers. The DeHaat seed round funded $4 million in the last year now it appears set for rapid expansion. Recently the central government issued an ordinance for the farmers free from certain restrictions. The back end analytics help the farmers to choose what to grow and how it does for better returns. Soil testing, weather tracking, input management, and pricing insights all come into it. These kinds of startups help the farmers to create their fields into smart fields to an extent.
