Blog

The access to data-driven, digitally enabled agriculture ecosystems are leading to a revolution in the agri-fintech segment. The use of farm management software, drones, smart irrigation systems, predictive data analytics, integrated warehousing and marketplace platforms are addressing some of the key challenges faced by growers, financers, and governments.

Today, micro-questions of a farmer on what crop to grow, getting a fair price for produce, seasonal risks, are being answered through a macro approach backed by weather and crop patterns, soil content, historical crop cutting methods, among other such parameters.

Actuarially-backed risk-protection methods are enabling smart farming decisions. The convergence of technologies like AI, ML, Analytics, applied to data, are reducing risks, helping institutional agri-finance, planning recovery pipelines, and improving claim settlements.

Agritech startups in India have been at the forefront of disrupting the sector and transforming it across all stages of the value chain. This includes blending farm inputs with physical infrastructure for greater price certainty, engaging in predictive analysis to improve yields, enabling farm management and precision agriculture, eliminating inefficiencies in supply change, and helping farm owners access credit and crop insurance.

In the past two years, agri fintech has come into its own, with participation of mainstream banks that are partnering with agritech startups to build innovative financing and insurance models for farmers. With farmer digital adoption increasing, the option of evaluating credit scores on the basis of data available, setting up of a federal agri stack, introduction of the Government-launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) is truly changing the insurance landscape. Today there are localised and climate-based agri fintech offerings, easier settlement of claims, a wider berth for insurance companies in the farming value chain, and in future setting up intermediaries that can offer easy insurance at the click of a button. All of this is possible due to the confluence of technology, policy reforms, and partnerships that are underway in the sector.

The aim of this roundtable is to bring stakeholders from the agri value chain to discuss how these changes can address challenges in the sector and optimise risk mitigation in future.

Our esteemed panelists and domain experts Dipu KV, President, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd; Prathibha Sarathy, Head, IT Enabled Member Services, General Insurance Council; and Sujit Janardanan, CMO, Cropin will be offering future forward strategic insights, so as to help catalyse the evolution that agri-fintech is poised for.

To be held on April 8, 2022, this panel will be moderated by Hemendra Mathur, Co-founder, ThinkAg, and partner at Bharat Innovation Fund.

To all leaders and stakeholders from the agritech value chain, this is your chance to be part of understanding the evolution of agri finance in India currently, participate in the discussion with your questions and insights, and collaborate with experts in the sector.

To join and live stream the event