From gauging the impact of digital solutions for farmers provided by agri-tech, to how drones are beginning to make an impact on agriculture, and more—our annual agri-tech issue is packed with deep reporting and analysis
On the cover: Sanjiv Mehta, CEO and MD, HUL, is leading the charge to take the company into the next decade
If there’s one sector that’s been crying out for technology and digital intervention, it’s agriculture. Consider: India’s agri sector accounts for just under 16 percent of the economy and almost half of its employment. Reasons for the low productivity range from inadequate market infrastructure and post-harvest wastage to volatile prices and poor crop planning.
The government is doing its bit to bolster agri productivity; a year ago, it flagged off the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission 2021-24’, with the aim of using technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and drones.
And there are the agri startups, pulling out all stops to deliver digital solutions to farmers.
That’s the focus of this fortnight’s special package. Naandika Tripathi travelled to a clutch of the country’s farming districts–from Botad in Gujarat to Junnar in Maharashtra–to gauge how agritech is changing farmer lives. Her verdict: Tech is resulting in perhaps the largest transformation since the Green Revolution, but a lot more interventions are needed to improve life on the farm.
One innovation that’s beginning to make a difference is drones. Naini Thaker travelled to south India to see how these unmanned vehicles are helping farmers in the Kuttanad region of Kerala and Tumkur district in Karnataka save costs and increase yields and productivity.
(This story appears in the 09 September, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)