New crop of agri-tech startups go beyond farm-to-fork to serve niche areas

Their initiatives span areas as diverse as sericulture and fisheries using niche solutions like IoT-based farm management and using AI to ensure freshness of produce

With a contribution of 18 per cent to the GDP, India’s agriculture sector deserved far more technology innovation than it has received so far. With total funding in modern agri-tech ventures at about $600 million to date, the scale has only begun to tilt.

The first wave of startups, mainly the likes of Jumbotail, Ninjakart and Agrostar, technologised supply chains and brought the conveniences of app-based e-commerce to foods. So did the effort by retail chains like Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh. Now a fresh breed of enterprises that target niche segments are coming up.

Dozens of new ventures are