BENGALURU: Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy since ages, and it is now a sector worth hundreds of crore. During the recent years, overall inflations have been under control, but now food inflation is growing at 7 percent, creating a mismatch of supply and demand. To suppress those dark sides of agriculture and solve all the issues concerning the farmers, startups are rising in the agricultural sector.

A farmer in the town ‘Tiptur’, far north-west of Bengaluru, had trouble managing his cattle and the supply chain.  The dairy management included problems with storing milk  in containers, which became non-consumable after few hours. All these problems gave a spark to Ranjith Mukundan who developed an automated dairy solution. Ranjith Mukundan lead his team and formed a company—Stellapps; and with this knowledge, the company now works with milk cooperative societies such as Aavin, Milma and Tirumala. Its solution is operating in 250 farms and is used by 3 Lakh dairy farmers.

Adding to the list of startups in this sector is the Bengaluru-based company—Flybird Innovations. It installs sensors in the soil to detect moisture content and control irrigation. This project has been deployed in 45 villages across Karnataka, helping the farmers to optimize the irrigation and reduce the consumption of water. This sensor has proven helpful in the drought-prone areas, and is supported by Chennai-based Villgro which is a social impact fund initiated by Dell Foundation.

Agri startups are focusing on both marketing and production to maintain the balance between demand and supply of agricultural products. Farmily is a company, providing platforms for farmers to display their farm produce and bring consumers and farmers to a single platform; they can negotiate with the demand through the phone and deliver the farm produce. India was a major exporter of Corn, but due to inflation now India imports Corn from outside. Such food crisis creates a vacuum for more enterprises to enter in the agriculture sector. The slowdown in e-commerce and the entrepreneurial energy will spur a new wave in rural and agricultural innovations.

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