Here are some of the Opportunities for Tech Entrepreneurs in the Indian Agriculture Sector
IT-enabled aggregators (for example an Uber-like application for farm equipment) are helping the farmers to have easy access to quality inputs, cost-effective access to equipment and much better realization for the output. The same is also leading to better monitoring by regulators and better delivery of subsidies, while at the same time offering multiple entrepreneurial opportunities in the rural areas.
The JAM combination (Jan Dhan, Adhaar and mobile technology) can lead to significant land and warehousing reforms, and higher insurance penetration. A Land Identification Number for each land parcel, linked to JAM, will create significant ease in accessing crop loans, land pooling, disbursement of farm subsidies and availing of crop insurance. The ease of conducting agricultural activity through this will immensely benefit all major stakeholders i.e. the farmer, government, banks and insurance companies and input suppliers.
A digitized Warehousing Identification Number (WIN) can remove the current inefficiencies in storage, which lead to absence of major private companies in warehousing, absence of compliance leading to ineffective monitoring and hoarding, and low prices for the farmer. WIN can enable app-based monitoring of stored output, which will make it easier for the government to monitor demand-supply situation in agricultural commodities, helping them to take necessary actions on time to avoid excess or shortage of stocks, which can smoothen the volatility in commodity prices and improve the ease of doing business.
Creating a block chain of technology in agriculture, involving JAM, LIN and WIN can seamlessly link all stakeholders with the farmer. Access to farm credit and insurance can become faster and much simpler, aggregation in inputs and marketing can lead to cost-effective access to machinery and much better price discovery and profitability. Proliferation of IT services in agriculture will also lead to substantial employment generation and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural India.
