Leadership Talk: Mr. Kunal Prasad and Mr. Krishna Kumar on CropIn’s AI-Driven Agritech Journey
“The World of Predictive and Prescriptive Ag-Analytics is here” — Mr. Kunal Prasad
In 2021, Focus Agritech spoke with Mr. Kunal Prasad, then Co-Founder and COO of CropIn Technologies, about the transformative potential of CropIn AI farming. With an MBA from Great Lakes Institute of Management, Mr. Prasad played a pivotal role in shaping CropIn’s early vision alongside Founder and CEO Mr. Krishna Kumar. Founded in 2010, CropIn has grown into a global leader among agritech startups in India, delivering a farm management platform that digitizes agriculture. This republished interview retains Mr. Prasad’s insights while highlighting CropIn’s 2025 milestones under Mr. Kumar’s leadership.
CropIn’s Agritech Journey
Focus Agritech: Congratulations on the recent Series C fundraising. How has this journey been for the founding team from ideation to creating a business of significant value?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: It has been a fabulous journey filled with learnings. It gives us great satisfaction to see our 2010 vision gain recognition and create value for farmers and businesses. This drives us to excel. We started to bring transparency and visibility across the agri value chain, building platforms like SmartFarm for real-time farm management. Our international expansion began in 2015, targeting Africa, South-East Asia, and Europe. With AI, ML, and data, we’re aligned to deliver cutting-edge solutions.
Vision for Per-Acre Value and Traceability
Focus Agritech: ‘Maximizing per Acre Value’ and ‘Making every Farm traceable’ are key drivers. Can you share more about this vision?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: Our core value is increasing per-acre output, from income to sustainability, by reducing data transfer costs and creating scalable models for developing economies. By making India’s 140 million farmers traceable, we aim to foster efficient information exchange across the value chain. We’ve achieved significant milestones in this vision.
Farmer Feedback and Technology Adoption
Focus Agritech: CropIn delivers decision-making tools for consistency and sustainability. What’s the feedback on your SaaS platform?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: Adoption is time-consuming, especially for small farmers who need 2-3 crop seasons to trust the system. In our World Bank project in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, adoption of climate advisories rose from 45% in year one to 85% by year three. Institutions adopt faster, especially with widespread smartphone use, reducing cycle times.
User-Friendly Agritech Solutions
Focus Agritech: How intuitive are SmartFarm, SmartRisk, and SmartWare for users, and what’s your roadmap for farmers?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: Our focus is enterprises, as impacting 570 million farmers globally requires engaging ecosystem players. SmartFarm enhances farm management, SmartRisk fixes supply chain gaps, and AcreSquare enables two-way communication with farmers. Our cloud platform ensures intuitive user experiences, aiming to reach 20 million farmers in two years.
Government’s Role in Agritech
Focus Agritech: What role do you expect government bodies to play in boosting agritech?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: The government is a key partner, promoting agritech through initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, where we implemented AI-based assessments. We work with Punjab for produce traceability and collaborate with IFC, NABARD, and the World Bank. Government investment shapes farming practices significantly.
CropIn’s CSR Initiatives
Focus Agritech: What are your CSR initiatives for farmers facing operational and environmental challenges?
Mr. Kunal Prasad: We subsidize products for small farmers through partners like cooperatives and nonprofits. We collaborate with agribusiness CSR arms to promote sustainable agriculture. Our work with a telecom CSR arm and the World Bank empowers women farmers in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, enhancing economic participation.
Vote of Thanks
Focus Agritech would like to thank Mr. Kunal Prasad for sharing his diverse thoughts on the state of Indian Agriculture, Immense possibilities for the future, and CropIn’s vision to build a data-driven sustainable future for the farmers. We wish him the very best for his future endeavors and would continue to collaborate with the firm to bring ‘Digital Transformation in India’.
2025 Update: CropIn’s Global Agritech Leadership
Since 2021, CropIn has solidified its position as a pioneer in CropIn AI farming, digitizing 16 million acres and empowering over 7 million farmers across 56 countries. Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Mr. Krishna Kumar, CropIn raised $13.7M in December 2022 from investors like Google, Impact Assets, Chiratae Ventures, and JSR Corporation, bringing total funding to $54M at an $88.5M valuation. The 2022 launch of Cropin Cloud integrated Apps, Data Hub, and Intelligence platforms, powering its farm management platform with solutions like SmartFarm and SmartRisk.
In 2024, CropIn introduced akṣara, an open-source micro-language model for climate-smart agriculture, and Cropin Sage, a generative AI tool for actionable insights. Partnerships with AWS, PepsiCo, and ADPC bolster its climate resilience efforts, aiming to impact one-third of global farmland by 2025. Mr. Kunal Prasad, a Co-Founder until 2023, laid foundational strategies for CropIn’s early growth, with Mr. Kumar now steering its global expansion.
Note on Leadership: Mr. Kunal Prasad, interviewed as Co-Founder and COO in 2021, left CropIn in 2023 after significantly shaping its early growth. Mr. Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO, continues to lead CropIn’s mission to revolutionize agritech startups in India with its farm management platform.
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