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00:00 – Intro
01:24 – State of Indian Agriculture
05:15 – $24 Billion Dream
08:23 – Reality Check and Challenges
13:09 – Sponsored Part
14:11 – Road Ahead
In 2019, Tiger Global invested $100 million in Ninjacart, a B2B agritech startup, marking one of its largest bets in India. This put agritech in the spotlight, leading to an explosion of startups and a surge in funding, growing from $60 million in 2017 to $895 million in 2021. However, the sector’s promise didn’t materialize. By 2024, funding dried up, and many startups shut down, making it one of the worst years for Indian agritech. What went wrong?
The State of Indian Agriculture
India has a massive agricultural workforce—about 50% of its population—but the sector contributes only 18% to GDP, showing extreme inefficiency. Compared to the US, where only 10.4% of the population is engaged in agriculture but contributes 5.5% to GDP, Indian farmers earn significantly less.
The inefficiency stems from:
Small Landholdings: 70% of Indian farmers own less than 1 hectare of land, which limits their productivity and income.
Low Income & Debt: The average Indian farmer earns around ₹9,000 per month, barely enough to sustain a family. Less than 20% have access to formal credit, forcing them to borrow from informal lenders at exorbitant interest rates, pushing many into a cycle of debt.
Traditional Farming Methods: Limited access to modern technology and reliance on rain-fed irrigation make Indian farming vulnerable to climate changes.
The $24 Billion Dream
The agritech boom was fueled by a 2019 EY report projecting the sector to grow from $200 million to $24 billion by 2025. Startups aimed to:
Increase farmers’ income by eliminating middlemen.
Introduce advanced farming technology like IoT and AI.
Streamline supply chains for higher efficiency.
Venture capitalists and the government saw potential in this vision, leading to a surge in funding. The 2020 farm laws were expected to help, allowing farmers to sell directly, engage in contract farming, and improve storage infrastructure. However, these laws were later repealed due to farmer protests, dealing a blow to startups.
Challenges & Reality Check
The agritech dream failed due to multiple factors:
Role of Middlemen – Startups underestimated the importance of middlemen, who not only act as traders but also provide credit to farmers. Greenikk, a banana trading startup, tried to bypass them but failed, ultimately working with the same middlemen they sought to eliminate.
Lack of Farmer Adoption – Many startups introduced IoT and AI-driven solutions, like Intello Labs’ image analytics for produce quality. However, with low incomes, farmers couldn’t afford these tools, and many found the data they provided to be impractical.
VC-Driven Growth Model – Startups pursued aggressive expansion without sustainable revenue models. ReshaMandi, a silk supply chain startup, burned cash by paying more for produce than market rates and expanding into unrelated businesses. Once VC funding slowed, it collapsed.
The Road Ahead
The agritech sector’s failure highlights that money alone can’t solve India’s agricultural crisis. A sustainable approach is needed:
Reducing agricultural dependence – Moving India’s workforce from farming to other sectors, similar to developed economies.
Long-term investment models – Startups must focus on profitability over aggressive expansion.
Collaborating with existing structures – Rather than eliminating middlemen, startups should work with them to create better efficiencies.
Agritech has potential, but it requires patient capital, policy stability, and solutions tailored to the realities of Indian farming.
how you research for video
formation of farmers society like Amul is the solution
शुद्ध आय में वृद्धि:
इसका प्राथमिक लक्ष्य किसानों की शुद्ध आय में पर्याप्त वृद्धि करना तथा इस आय के आधार पर कृषि प्रगति को मापना था।
सतत संसाधन प्रबंधन:
टिकाऊ कृषि प्रणालियों के लिए भूमि, जल, जैव विविधता और आनुवंशिक संसाधनों का संरक्षण और सुधार करना।
सहायता सेवाएँ:
सस्ती कीमतों पर गुणवत्तापूर्ण बीज, सिंचाई, बिजली, मशीनरी, उर्वरक और ऋण तक पहुंच प्रदान करना।
जैव-सुरक्षा:
आजीविका की रक्षा और खाद्य सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करने के लिए फसलों, पशुधन, मछली और वनों की जैव-सुरक्षा को मजबूत करना।
मूल्य एवं व्यापार नीति:
उचित मूल्य और व्यापार नीतियों के माध्यम से किसानों की आय बढ़ाने के लिए तंत्र को लागू करना।
जोखिम प्रबंधन:
किसानों को विभिन्न जोखिमों के लिए समय पर और पर्याप्त मुआवजा प्रदान करना।
भूमि सुधार:
अधूरे भूमि सुधार एजेंडों को संबोधित करना तथा परिसंपत्ति और कृषि सुधारों को आरंभ करना।
मानव और लिंग आयाम:
सभी कृषि नीतियों और कार्यक्रमों में मानवीय और लैंगिक विचारों को एकीकृत करना।
ग्रामीण आजीविका:
टिकाऊ ग्रामीण आजीविका और समुदाय-केंद्रित भोजन, जल और ऊर्जा सुरक्षा को बढ़ावा देना।
युवाओं को आकर्षित करना:
युवाओं की भागीदारी को प्रोत्साहित करने के लिए खेती को बौद्धिक रूप से उत्तेजक और आर्थिक रूप से लाभदायक बनाना। 😢
Krashi neety 2007
Ya sab ground level.per nahi ho raha hai aaj date 14 jul 2025 hai es sai bhe bada mudda hai kishan bhukh sai.mar raha hai only vo depand hai sarkari rashan per vo bhe ground level per 2 kg kam he milta hai fir kishan 1 accer mai 9000 month ka kashai kama sakta hai pest insecticide mai ya plbhe chala jata hai sugarcane uganai wala kishan aaj bhe ghata kha raha hai vo es liya becouse kishan ko passa he time per nahi milta beemar ho gaya to jo hai vo doctor bhar ka hota hai 😢😢😢😢😢😢
I think most agritech startups are coming up with innovations through the way they think, not from the farmers perspective. Most farmers in India cultivate their crops with prerequisite knowledge and are very constrained to adapt to new things, maybe due to their inability to understand and trust- deficit that has been bridged by middlemen for a long time. I think we need a new generation of tech-enabled farmers, which is slowly growing and evolving with policies of government.
Your few points are correct, but farmers not inefficient, have seen what's the market price is when crop harvested. You need to research properly before making an document. What's the govt support? Why don't Agricultural dept inform farmers in each district what, how much should be cultivated. Day will come when public needs to pay high charges for veggies and rice
Very wwell explained !❤
wait for 1 year and you will see what my idea is
Greenik sounds like a very stupid startup. Didn’t they do market surveys if they can run a business without middlemen. Seems like no one has heard about product-market fir idea
Rahul PAPU is the only one to blame, L LOSER
bring back farm laws, tax the rich farmers ( profit more than 25L per year) to weed out the tax loophole used in farming, and let people use agriculture for actual purpose