“Today entrepreneurs look at Agri-tech as the most promising sector for the future”
Focus Agritech had an opportunity to interact with Mr. Sushan Rungta who is the CTO at AgriBazaar. Mr. Sushan Rungta is a technologist who has been working on innovative concepts and transformational technologies for Indian farmers. His vision has helped Agribazaar launch new products, maintain a competitive edge and incorporate futuristic views for growth too.
He shared with us his thoughts on how the farming sector has evolved over the years and how AgriBazaar has been leveraging technology to come up with solutions to solve complex challenges faced by the farmers. Mr. Sushan Rungta is also the founder of AppuOnline Consultancy services, ClickIndia Infomedia and holds an MBA degree from Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.
Focus Agritech:
Agribazaar is driven by a fundamental belief to transform agriculture through technology. What are some of the segments in the agriculture value chain where these transformational technologies have been implemented by AgriBazaar?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
At Agribazaar, our focus has been on creating happy farmers, happy buyers and happy partners. We have integrated supply chain management for the farmers. This includes warehousing and transportation. We aspire to become India’s largest e-mandi where trading of agricultural commodities takes place. This online platform connects farmers, traders, governments, millers and processors. We are also into crop advisory and selling inputs.
Our platform connects around 10,000 traders and processors, over 100 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with its network of over 2 lakh farmers across India. The average deal size is 300 tonnes. To date, 32,437 auctions have been listed on our portal, with 11,322 crore contract value traded and transaction volume of 26,29,854 metric tonnes. We have also integrated NAFED milling auction in our app.
Focus Agritech:
You have digitized the agri value chain with proof of origin and authenticity, enabling traceability whilst bringing down agri-trade commissions? How ready is the Indian Farmer to adopt such a cutting edge technology and understand the benefits of this platform approach?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
Farmers in India have the following challenges in adopting technology. They have zero paying capacity for the usability of such products, small land holdings and low penetration of smartphones (80% of Indian farmers still don’t have smartphones).
While we are working to bring new technology products to the farmers, the enablement and adoption of the same will happen over time. This Agritech sector is getting noticed and more and more private players are coming up to offer solutions across the value chain. The entire ecosystem has to work in tandem to ensure that farmers get the benefit of technological breakthroughs and these platforms offer ease of use and adoption.
Focus Agritech:
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the Agri Supply Chains, restrictions were imposed on logistics, traditional retail channels were shut down. How did Agribazaar’s business fare during these tough times and what was the silver lining for your business?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
Clearly our business and customer reach has flourished especially during the pandemic since we make it extremely easy and convenient for our farmers and the traders to transact through our platform. We have seen a 400% surge in the number of registrations from farmers & buyers and turnovers since the COVID-19 lockdown. Our business metrics are showing good signs of scaling up business and I believe that our model is definitely stable.
Agribazaar’s focus since the inception has been to ensure that the farmers get a fair price for their agricultural produce and the transaction systems are efficient and transparent. We are fully aligned to Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Double farmers’ incomes by the year 2024 and are working towards the goal as an Agritech StartUp.
Focus Agritech:
Your firm is building partnerships with governments and farmer cooperatives to enable the widest possible access for your platform. How do you think it is possible to integrate different channels with disparate IT systems across the value chain?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
The integration of systems like Labs, Weighment bridge, E-Nam, Mandis, FPO’s, ERP system of various processors & millers helps in connecting different channels across the value chain. Agritech is a new concept for farmers in India and the entire ecosystem has to be built, integrated and successfully run with proof of execution and results.
Since the technology interventions in this sector have been limited and the existing systems are in silos it is important that a policy framework, IT & Services Architecture is planned at the policy making level. The private players like Agribazaar would definitely look forward to engaging with the government bodies, associations and other players of the ecosystem for mutual synergies and building a better future for the farmers of the country.
Focus Agritech:
Agri tech sector is witnessing strong momentum as the demand for reliable food supply and quality produce increases. On one hand the tech adoption is slow and on the other hand we see more innovation and entry of new entrants in Agritech space. How do you see this anomaly?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
Almost 55% of India’s population depends on agriculture as its primary source of revenue. The sector contributes 18% to the national GDP. Our nation accounts for more than 450+ start-ups in the agri-tech space, which translates that every 9th agri-tech startup in the world is an Indian one.
Until a few years ago, agricultural research and development were primarily the government’s concern, and private companies hardly entered into the agricultural sector without incentives. The Indian agri-business is still largely fragmented and farming communities continue to face a lot of challenges in the marketing and trading of their agri- produce due to the growing influence of middlemen, inadequate storage facilities, lack of proper logistics and unfair prices. But today, things have changed.
Private entrepreneurs have started looking at Agritech as one of the most promising sector for future growth. The agri-tech sector has opened up numerous market opportunities in the country – market linkages, i.e., taking farmers’ products directly to consumers, digital agriculture, i.e real-time access and transparency to information, better access to inputs by providing better quality implements to farmers for better production and providing financing are some of the major areas that these start-ups have significantly registered their presence in. The key focus area for agri-tech start-ups is improving the supply chain, as this helps the farmers get a better price for their produce.
Focus Agritech:
What is your short term and a long-term technology roadmap for Agribazaar and what help is expected from the Government bodies and regulators for this sector?
Mr. Sushan Rungta- Agribazaar:
Short term strategy is to improve reach and transaction channels in the agriculture eco-system, so that the right set of value services could be provided to the farmer.
Our long term strategy is to build a transparent value chain between the consumer and the farmer so that one can easily identify the food they are eating, know its origin and be assured of the promised quality. More importantly, the consumer should be able to know as to what contribution of his money has reached in the hands of the grower.
Vote of Thanks !
Focus Agritech would like to thank Mr. Sushan Rungta for sharing his valuable insights on Indian Agriculture and how technology is redefining the landscape. Agribazaar’s growth story has been simply outstanding under the visionary leadership of Mr. Rungta and we would like to wish the StartUp a promising and fulfilling journey ahead.
Also read next in our ‘Leadership Talk Series’ – Chat with Gramophone CO Founder Mr. Harshit Gupta’
