Five agri-tech startups will get Rs 42.5 lakh each for one year under a programme called Krishi Mangal which is supported by Cisco and Social Alpha, a platform enabled and supported by the Tata Trusts for agri-tech start-ups to scale up.
The five start-ups are: Trace X Technologies which uses blockchain technology to enable transparency, trust and traceability across the supply chain. It will work with about a thousand maize farmers in Belgaum (Belagavi) district of Karnataka to increase their income by at least 25 percent.
Jaljeevika Infotech will train 500 fish farmers of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district in pond management with IoT (Internet of Things) sensors.
Pashu Bajaar will train over a thousand farmers of Lucknow and Jharkhand’s Deoghar in goat rearing. The objective is to create an efficient livestock market via e-commerce.
Tan 90 Thermal Solutions is using phase-change material-based portable cold storage boxes for last-mile delivery of fish in 11 districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana impacting about 5,000 farmers.
Satyukt Analytics will provide farm-specific crop advisories and early warnings of risks from floods, drought, pests and diseases via smartphone applications at an affordable price to about 7,000 smallholder farmers in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
The purpose of Krishi Mangal is to deploy innovation and entrepreneurship for the wellbeing of smallholder farming communities. The intention is to create a digital agricultural collective with collaboration across the ecosystem. In addition to the grant, the five start-ups will also get support for marketing, sales, distribution and additional fundraising.
(This report is based on a press release)
