CropIn Technology Solutions, a Bengaluru-based Agritech startup has recently raised 8 Million dollar in a ‘Series B’ funding round led by Chiratae Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The startup that is presently active in 29 countries has taken a less-explored path of bringing a data-driven approach to the agriculture sector in India through its platform.
Founder of CropIn, Krishna Kumar said the deficiency of modern technology in Indian agriculture is what motivated him to start the company. He said, “Agriculture sector actually needed technology as the farmers are committing suicides, yields are low and nobody wants their children to get into farming. I wanted to do something about this as nobody else wanted to and there are so many challenges”.
SmartFarm, the flagship product of CropIn works to unite all the players of the agricultural ecosystem i.e. food companies, government agencies and farmers.
Kumar added that “Agro companies for example, ITC and Mccain have farm managers and agronomists, who make sure that the right practices are followed by farmers and ensure the best possible quality and yield. For this, they have to be connected with farmers so as to give updates on sowing, weather patterns, diseases and pests and also to give suggestion on irrigation and seeds. This is where SmartFarm comes in”.
SmartFarm allows big companies to manage the supply chain and give real-time updates to the farmers who have smartphones along with internet connectivity. And if the farmer has neither of the two, SmartFarm sends the updates through SMS.
From crop sowing to harvesting, SmartFarm keeps an eye on the field and weather and then sends an action plan to the farmer. It also checks weather patterns and other parameters constantly to foretell about crop health and potential yield. This not only brings clarity to the farmers and agro firms but can also be used by fintech companies to insure the crops.
Currently CropIn is working with the central government under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna and is active in a few districts of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The company is also working with government in Karnataka to digitise farmer producer organisations and with the Madhya Pradesh and Bihar governments on the climate resiliency programme to help farmers tackle climate change.
