Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. According to a report from FICCI, about 65 percent of the Indian population depends directly on agriculture and it accounts for around 22 percent of India’s GDP. But farmers, on the other hand, face unprecedented challenges like unpredictable weather, non-availability of good quality seeds and fertilizers and un-reliable avenues to sell their crops after the harvest. There is a large scope to implement modern technology to solve these inherent problems.
While e-commerce has revolutionised the way buyers and sellers connect, it is yet to become mainstream in many niche markets, one of which is agriculture. BigHaat, an agri-commerce startup claims to have helped and impacted the lives of about 50,000 farmers through their platform over the past one year. Their goal is to help farmers reap the benefits of e-commerce and save time and money in the process.As an online marketplace for agriculture products, BigHaat lets customers shop across categories like seeds, crop protection nutrients and solutions and agro instruments.The platform works on a hybrid model. It accepts online orders and also from their ‘feet on the street’ model, where sales people directly interact with farmers to help them place orders for products they need. BigHaat’s main customers other than farmers include nurseries, poly-houses, and contract farming communities.On the whole, BigHaat aims to connect farmers to verified suppliers directly and reduce travel periods required to procure their desired products.
Agriculture, along with fisheries and forestry, is one of the largest contributors to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).IBEF noted that India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products and is also the second largest fruit producer in the world. But the sector faces multiple issues and there is lot of scope for improvement and optimisation.
The agricultural sector has strong forward and backward linkages and its performance affects every sector of the country. Several players have invested in the agricultural sector in India, mainly driven by the government’s initiatives and schemes. In August 2015, m-commerce platform Agrostar had raised a $4-million round from IDG Ventures along with existing investor Aavishkaar.
Implementing effective e-commerce solutions for the farming sector is of extreme importance as it has the potential to make the lives of farmers easier and also make farming more sustainable and profitable in the long run.
