CEO speaks: Sowing Innovation: Agritech Startups Reshaping Indian Agriculture

In a country where nearly half the workforce depends on agriculture, it’s a tad bit disappointing that the sector contributes only 15% to the GDP. So, it is clear that India’s agricultural economy has long needed a transformation. That transformation is now underway, another ‘Green Revolution’. But not with mass mechanisation, but with precision farming, AI, IoT sensors, satellite imaging, blockchain traceability and drone spraying. In this new world of agritech, startups are reimagining agriculture from seed to shelf and leveraging the digital economy to improve the lives of our farmers.

The rise of agritech is a global phenomenon, addressing a set of shared challenges: unpredictable weather patterns, shrinking arable land, mounting food demand, supply chain inefficiencies and the growing need for sustainability. From California’s vertical farms to Israel’s drip irrigation systems, the use of technology to improve agricultural productivity and farmer income has always been an urgent global priority.

In India, the urgency is compounded by fragmented land holdings, low farm mechanisation, and post-harvest losses that can reach up to 30% in perishables.

Enter the agritech startups. Nimble, tech-savvy and deeply committed to social impact. These startups are operating across a spectrum of areas: precision agriculture (using AI and sensors for optimal resource use), supply chain digitisation, farm input e-commerce, agri fintech (loans, insurance, and payment platforms for farmers), output marketplaces (connecting farmers directly to buyers) and climate-smart solutions. What’s exciting is that these innovations are no longer confined to research labs or large corporations. They are reaching the small and marginal farmers, who form the backbone of Indian agriculture.

Take DeHaat, one of India’s leading agritech players. Founded in Bihar and now expanded across several states, DeHaat offers a full-stack platform for farmers including advisory services, farm input supply, market linkages, and credit access, all on a mobile app. Another notable name is Ninjacart, which has disrupted the fresh produce supply chain by connecting farmers directly to retailers using real-time data analytics and logistics optimisation. AgNext is using AI and computer vision for quality analysis in agri produce, reducing fraud and inefficiency in transactions.

In the fintech space, Samunnati provides working capital and market access to farmer producer organisations (FPOs), helping unlock scale for small farmers. Stellapps, spun out of IIT Madras, brings IoT and data analytics into the dairy supply chain, from milk production to procurement and processing. And CropIn, a Bengaluru-based startup, offers predictive analytics and remote monitoring for global agri-enterprises, serving clients in over 60 countries. Proximal Soilsens, a Pune-based startup incubated in collaboration with IIT Bombay, has been working on developing affordable soil testing kits and mobile-based advisory services tailored to the different soil types across our nation. Their tools help farmers make informed decisions on fertilizer and irrigation management, reducing costs and enhancing yields These success stories highlight that India’s agritech startups are not just domestic disruptors, they are becoming global enablers, exporting their technologies and frameworks to other emerging economies grappling with similar agricultural challenges.

What’s heartening is that this wave of innovation is not restricted to the usual startup hubs like Bengaluru. Kolkata, too, is slowly emerging as a promising node in the agritech map. Take Invati, which focuses on nanotechnology products for agriculture, animal care, poultry, and pharma. They have raised USD 5.43 million in series A funding and are driving a very niche area in agriculture. Other ventures include FarmNeed, a web and mobile based application for weather forecasting for farmers and InQube, provider of cloud-based, multi-lingual Agri ERP platform using different technologies. VeggieKart, a Bhubaneshwar-based e-grocery startup with a backward integration model, has started working directly with peri-urban farmers to ensure better price realisation and reduction in post-harvest losses. Their model ensures that produce travels from farm to shelf in less than 24 hours, bypassing traditional middlemen. West Bengal alone has over 7 million operational holdings and a diverse agro-climatic zone suitable for a variety of crops. It is one of the largest producers of rice, jute, vegetables, and fish. With the right agritech push, the region could emerge not just as a consumer of technology but as a cradle of innovation.

As India charts its course toward becoming a global agritech leader, startups are playing a pivotal role in transforming agriculture into a scalable, tech-enabled enterprise. By bridging long-standing gaps in access, information, finance, and markets, these ventures are not just boosting productivity but also restoring hope to millions of farmers. The true promise of agritech in India lies not just in smarter farms, but in a smarter, more equitable future for those who till its soil.

The author is the Group CEO of Techno India Group, a visionary and an educator. Beyond his corporate role, he is also a mentor who guides students towards resilience and self-discovery