India: Agricultural Sector Is Ready for Tech-Enabled Makeover
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 58% of the Indian population and it represented almost $300 billion of gross value add in FY20, reports Forbes India. However, the annual growth in this gross value add is a mere 3%. This represents the lack of innovation that this critical sector has experienced over decades, however, it also represents the huge opportunity for innovation and technology.
Farmers face fundamental issues including lack of information on farm inputs, unorganized credit, and absence of market linkages. To put things in perspective, most farmers are compelled to use the traditional channels to purchase raw materials such as seeds, fertilizers, and other farming products. Moreover, almost 30-40% of the total harvest gets wasted at various levels of the distribution or supply chain, which amounts to very low earnings for farmers.
Thus, the sector is ripe for technology intervention which can morph the agricultural landscape of the country for the better. Cutting-edge technology in the agriculture sector has become the need of the hour. It will not only help modernize the sector and increase yields, it will also make it more cost-effective at the same time. In fact, tech-based solutions may further help in addressing structural problems such as the presence of numerous middlemen, bringing the farmers closer to the consumers, improving yields per acre, picking the right crops for better earnings, the efficient use of resources such as water, and improving quality with the right inputs. This will also support newer farming methods such as vertical farming, hydroponic farming, and so on. Innovation can also improve storage, distribution/supply chain, food processing, and packaging.
Continue reading at Forbes India.
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