Expanding Access to Agritech Solutions

From Policy to Practice: A New Era of Agritech Innovation for Maharashtra As Maharashtra charts its path toward inclusive agritech transformation, AI is emerging as a powerful ally for smallholder farmers — not just in theory, but through real, ground-level impact. Here’s how AI is already making a difference: 1. Personalized Advisory in Marathi AI-powered apps like #MahaVISTAAR_AI deliver crop-specific guidance in local languages — from sowing to pest control — making precision farming accessible to all. 2. Crop Monitoring & Yield Forecasting Satellite imagery + AI models help forecast yields, detect vulnerabilities, and guide climate-resilient planning. 3. Disease & Pest Detection via Smartphones Farmers can snap a photo of a diseased leaf and receive instant AI-driven diagnoses and treatment suggestions. 4. Market Intelligence & Price Forecasting AI tools analyze mandi arrivals and demand trends to help farmers time their sales and avoid distress pricing. 5. Curbing Black Marketing of Inputs AI-backed traceability platforms ensure certified seeds and fertilizers reach the right hands. 6. AI-Based Credit Scoring New models bypass traditional CIBIL scores, unlocking formal credit and insurance for smallholders. 7. Sandbox Pilots for Local Innovation Startups can test AI tools using anonymized farm data from #CropSAP, Mahavedh, and #AgriStack — driving region-specific solutions. Maharashtra’s AI & Agritech Innovation Center is laying the groundwork for scalable, farmer-first solutions. The opportunity to co-create with startups, policymakers, and researchers has never been more exciting. What do you think? PoCRA: Nanaji Deshmukh Krushi Sanjivani Prakalp #Agritech #AIForFarmers #MaharashtraInnovation #InclusiveGrowth #StartupIndia #DigitalAgriculture #ThoughtLeadership

Northern Ghana has only one major rainy season each year. Meet the entrepreneur helping farmers break this cycle of uncertainty.   This week on the Unlocking Africa Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Anaporka Adazabra, Founder and CEO of Farm.IO Limited, an agritech company using engineering, data and digital tools to transform farming across the continent. Growing up in northern Ghana, where families have just one chance each year to plant, harvest and survive, she experienced first-hand how vulnerable smallholder farmers are to climate change. Today, as a Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Awardee, she is leading a movement that is reshaping how Africa grows food and builds climate-resilient livelihoods. Explaining the motivation behind her work, she told me: “It is not the industry, agriculture, that is the problem. It is the systems we have built around it. We should reimagine agriculture as an ecosystem of opportunity powered by technology, innovation and knowledge.” And Farmio’s work is already delivering meaningful impact: → Designing modular smart greenhouses from locally sourced and recycled materials that conserve up to 80% of water → Building the Farmio Super App, a digital companion that gives farmers real-time guidance on weather, soil health, pest control and market access → Training community agents and supporting more than 1,000 farmers with the skills, tools, and insights needed to grow consistently. → Helping women farmers increase their yields by up to 300 percent, while reducing post-harvest losses by more than 60 percent Anaporka also spoke powerfully about women in agritech: “African women are already capable. We have just needed the right platforms, networks and resources to thrive.” Her story is a reminder that Africa is not only adopting agritech innovation but also shaping the future of climate-smart farming systems the world can learn from. If you are interested in technology, sustainability and Africa’s economic transformation, this is a conversation you will not want to miss. ⬇️ Listen now — link in the comments below ⬇️ #Agritech #Africa #ClimateResilience #Innovation #Sustainability #FoodSecurity #PodcastHost #UnlockingAfrica

I just finished mapping open agriculture, food security, and agritech grants accessible to African organizations. 20+ active opportunities. Funders ranging from the The World Bank, AfDB, EU, Mastercard Foundation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and more. Combined pool: over $500 million. Here’s the insight most organizations miss: the first question isn’t “Which grant should we apply for?” The reality is that the largest grants don’t flow directly to NGOs or startups. Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP)’s $20M country-led track, EU Horizon €5–6M calls, AfDB TAAT-II go through governments, research institutions, and accredited implementing partners. African organizations that want access must position themselves as credible implementing partners, not just applicants. That means: - Relationships built ahead of any call - Financial systems that can withstand audits - Governance structures that satisfy compliance teams Co-financing requirements are another signal funders are sending: - Mastercard Foundation FRP → 30% - Ireland’s AADP → 50% - SADC Green Economy → 10% This isn’t stinginess but it’s a capital-readiness test. Funders now reward organizations that can aggregate funding from multiple sources. Standalone grant dependency is increasingly a liability. The structural entry point for agritech startups has never been clearer. Programs like Katapult Africa, AGRO-WELL, CFC’s 28th Call, and Grand Challenges are opening direct non-dilutive pathways for AI, precision agriculture, and digital value-chain startups. Yet many founders still think “grants = NGOs,” which is why this fastest-growing sub-sector has surprisingly little competition. Accessing these opportunities requires more than just a list of grants. Organizations need to understand Capital Pathways, how to: - Pre-position for consortium calls - Structure co-investment vehicles to meet match requirements - Assess which producer groups have the governance and systems to absorb capital In short, capital doesn’t fund problems, it funds organizations equipped to solve them. If you’re an African agricultural NGO, cooperative, or agritech startup and want the full Master Grant Discovery Report with all 20+ opportunities and actionable insights: 👉 Comment “Agric Funding” below and I’ll send it to you. #AgriculturalFinance #ImpactInvesting #GrantFunding #Agritech #CapitalArchitecture #AfricanAgribusiness #ClimateFinance #FoodSecurity

60% of the world's uncultivated arable land sits in Africa. This single statistic represents the largest untapped agricultural potential on our planet. But the market opportunity extends far beyond just available land: 🌱 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Africa's population will grow from 1.5 billion today to 2.5 billion by 2050. By midcentury, 1 in 4 global citizens will be African. Who will feed this population? 🌱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀: One of biggest hurdles is fragmented market (54 countries) and inefficient supply chain leads to a shocking 40% of agricultural production. Inefficiency is a problem worth solving. 🌱 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: 80% of African agricultural production comes from smallholder farmers. Technology and Science can significantly alter livelihoods of the most vulnerable. 🌱 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗮𝗽: Yet despite this massive potential, agritech investment in Africa represents only 0.7-2% of global agritech funding - representing 5% of funding developed countries raise. This capital allocation mismatch creates a perfect opportunity for more agri-focussed VCs to emerge. I am amazed at the numbers shared by Phillip and Fares in the Included VC Africa summit. The duo represents Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supporting scaling digital agriculture innovation through startups (SAIS accelerator). I was particularly impressed by their focus on the representation of women co-founders in Africa. These are the top #Agritech startups to watch out for #VentureCapitalists : Seabex (𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱) uses satellite imagery for precision irrigation, helping farmers save 30% water while increasing crop yields by 20%. DeepLeaf (Morocco, Unfunded) recognises 400+ plant health anomalies across 20 crops, reducing pesticide use by over 50%. Farmers simply need a smartphone and affordable sensors. Hello Tractor (𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮, 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔) brings mechanisation to smallholder farmers through pay-as-you-go model for smarter and profitable technology. They have recently expanded from tractors to drones and based out of Kenya, it caters to 20 countries Cinch Markets, Ltd. (𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮, 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱) aggregates small farms by pooling adjacent lands for collectively cultivating them by professionalizing operations. The farmers receive a guaranteed rental income, giving them a choice if they want to upskill or opt for an alternate career. Chitosan Egypt (𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱), a circular economy startup that transforms shrimp waste into organic fertiliser, serving 4,000 farms across North Africa #Africa represents the rare convergence of #agriculture innovations, healthy policies, hungry entrepreneurs, and international support, enabling a fertile ground for startups to grow.

Glad to have an op-ed on IFC - International Finance Corporation’s work on Agtechs published in South Africa’s The Star newspaper today.   In it, I explore how partnerships between AgTech firms and financial institutions can transform African agriculture which is dominated by smallholder farmers.   In Morocco, we’re working with SOWIT | AgriTech and AgriFinance and Alamana Microfinance Maroc to equip wheat farmers with better data and access to credit. The result? Higher yields, better prices, and nearly doubled incomes. In Nigeria, we are working with Babban Gona and Sterling Bank to scale Babban Gona's reach. Similar projects are underway in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Ethiopia. All have promising early results.   These partnerships show what’s possible when we connect digital innovation with financial inclusion across the agriculture value chain.   This is about more than farming and technology. It’s about unlocking economic opportunity and creating jobs not just in farming communities but across countries and borders, while building resilience to shocks and supporting macroeconomic stability.   Africa holds a quarter of the world’s arable land yet produces just 10% of global output. We can change that.   By increasing access to credit to farmers, aligning lending with planting cycles, and giving farmers the tools to succeed, we’re helping shape a more secure, more productive future for Africa and all who live here.   #agtech #jobs #foodsecurity #IFC #Africa   https://lnkd.in/eynM-Emk  

🚜 The farmer didn’t lose his harvest because of climate change. He lost it because the insight arrived too late. The data existed. The sensors existed. The models existed. They were just somewhere else. We keep saying AI will transform agriculture in Africa. But most solutions assume: • permanent internet • centralized cloud compute • distant decision-making • generic models That’s not how farms operate. And it’s not how resilience is built. At ARED GROUP INC, we’re taking a different path. We’re building edge-based agricultural intelligence — where decisions are made on the farm, in real time. Here’s what that looks like 👇 Small edge devices deployed with existing sensor technologies: soil moisture temperature humidity crop stress A small language model, running locally, turns signals into actions: 👉 “Water today.” 👉 “Disease risk rising — act within 48 hours.” 👉 “Soil nutrients declining.” 👉 “Delay planting one week.” No dashboards. No cloud dependency. No waiting. Why edge changes everything for small farmers ✅ Works offline ✅ Responds instantly ✅ Costs less to operate ✅ Learns local soils, crops, and climates ✅ Scales village by village Cloud AI gives advice from far away. Edge AI lives where the risk is. This is the shift we don’t talk about enough The future of agri-AI in Africa won’t be: ❌ bigger models ❌ more cloud spend ❌ more centralized platforms It will be: 🧠 smaller models 📍 local intelligence ⚡ real-time decisions 🌱 farmer-first design That future is already starting. We’re opening this up to partners. ARED GROUP INC is actively looking to collaborate with: • sensor manufacturers • agri-tech startups • NGOs & pilot programs • research institutions • AI & data practitioners If you’re already working with farms and want to deploy intelligence at the edge, let’s build and test together. This isn’t a concept. This is infrastructure. 💬 Comment, DM, or tag someone who should be part of this.

In AgriTech ? 86% farmers still untouched by Agritech. This is where the real opportunity is. The real story nobody is talking about. India’s Agritech market is still around ₹6,000 Cr today. By 2033, it is projected to cross ₹33,000 Cr. On paper, this looks like a massive growth story. On ground, it’s a distribution and trust gap story. ~86% of Indian farmers still do NOT actively use Agritech services. Let that sink in. Not because technology doesn’t exist. Not because innovation is lacking. But because adoption hasn’t reached the last mile. Where the real opportunity lies: 1. Farmers don’t want “apps”, they want assurance 2. Farmers don’t buy features, they buy results 3. Farmers trust people on the field, not dashboards 4. Farmers adopt solutions that save money today, not promises of tomorrow The next ₹27,000 Cr opportunity won’t come from: 1. Fancy AI decks 2. Over-built platforms 3. Urban-first product thinking It will come from: 1. On-ground service models 2. Pay-per-use & outcome-based pricing 3. Tech + human execution 4. Vernacular, local, trust-led distribution Smart Agritech in the next decade is not SaaS. It’s “Service + Tech + Trust.” Startups that crack: 1. Last-mile execution 2. Farmer psychology 3. Unit economics at village level …will build India’s most defensible Agritech companies. If Agritech has to scale in India, the formula remains unchanged: Real farmers. Real problems. Real impact. Everything else is just noise. #gowravreddy #agritech #indianstartups #startupindia #agriculture #indianagriculture #founders #missing #opportunity #farmers

Imagine a weather station standing guard over a farm, predicting rain and sunshine, while a soil sensor whispers insights about irrigation and nutrients. For one farmer, these innovations boosted income by 35%. Sounds like the future of farming, right? Yet, he remains the only one in a 30-km radius using such technology. The reasons are a combination of affordability, lack of awareness, and systemic roadblocks. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝘿𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙖 Agriculture employs 55% of India's workforce yet contributes only 16% to the GDP. With over 90% of farmers managing small plots, the challenge isn’t just innovation—it’s adoption at scale. Startups that once attracted record funding are now struggling. Agritech investments plummeted from $1.2 billion to $706 million in just a year. Many survive on government contracts, but without farmer buy-in, the true impact remains elusive. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠? 1. Cost vs. Benefit: Even a 15% yield boost isn’t enough if the tech remains expensive. Farmers need solutions priced within 10% of their cultivation costs. 2. Mistrust & Education Gap: Most farmers trust word-of-mouth over data, making direct engagement crucial. 3. Scalability Struggles: One-size-fits-all doesn’t work. AgTech must adapt to local climates, soil, and crop diversity. 4. Policy Hurdles: State-controlled agriculture leads to inconsistent policies that reduce incentives for private innovation. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙮 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 1. Affordable, pay-per-use models instead of large upfront costs. 2. Localized, vernacular, and community-driven adoption strategies. 3. Partnerships with farmer cooperatives to build trust and awareness. The promise of AgriTech is real, but its success hinges on whether it truly integrates into the farmer’s way of life. #Agriculture #Innovation #AgriTech #FutureOfFarming #ProductManagement