It is not surprising then that over the last few years, the agtech sector in India has grown by leaps and bounds. The progress so far, is only the tip of the sector’s potential.

As we enter the new decade, India’s rural regions are witnessing a drastic increase in smartphone usage. This, in turn, is leading to an unprecedented increase of the application of agriculture technologies in smallholder farms. Consequently, there is a fundamental change in the manner in which the sector functions.

In this blog, we examine five trends that will contribute to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of India’s farmlands in the new decade. By extension, they will also play a prominent role in fulfilling the government’s vision of doubling farmer income by 2022.

• Increased popularity of Farming as a Service (FaaS) model

  The potential of FaaS in India’s context is encapsulated in a report by the global consultancy firm, Bain & Company. The report observes that FaaS will push much-needed process and product innovations in Indian agriculture, including multipurpose agricultural equipment, tools for real-time data capturing and analysis, aggregation of farmland and farm produce, and financial technology for farmers​ii. In 2020, we expect the FaaS solutions to gain more prominence in India’s farmlands.

  FaaS models convert fixed upfront costs in to variable ongoing costs for farmers by providing on-demand solutions. Services offered by this model are a mix of organised and efficient re-inventions of existing practices, combined with tech-driven innovations. These include a range of amenities for farmer assistance – from equipment rental to crop protection advisory and materials. By making services available on a subscription or pay-per-use basis, they make modern farming techniques more affordable and accessible for smallholder farmers.

• AI-driven weather predictions will enhance farm outputs

  Agriculture is intensely climate-dependent. Any changes in the weather will have a direct impact on farmers and harvests. However, changing weather patterns and climate change over the last decade have led to unpredictable monsoons, causing poor crop yields. As a result, farmers incur great losses.

  To optimize yields, farmers must be able to make pre-season and in-season decisions relating to the kind of weather they expect. In 2020, we expect weather solutions to gain popularity among smallholder farmers. Agtech companies combine weather insights with farm data to offer precision agriculture advisory. For instance, research shows that sowing advisories send farmers the optimal dates to sow seeds based on their regional weather insights. These do not require the farmers to install any sensors on their fields or incur any additional costs. All the farmers need is a phone capable of receiving text messages. Farmers who have participated in such programmes have reported a 30 per cent increase in their yields​.

• Predictive analytics will reduce farm losses

  Predictive analytics in agriculture holds the potential to drastically improve farm productivity and output quality. On-field sensors relay real-time data to IoT devices. Farmers can continuously monitor crop health, soil fertility etc. On basis of these insights, farmers can determine the application of crop inputs and other resource management. The advance intimation can also play a role in prevention of adverse events and productivity damage mitigation.

  2020 will see an increase in the adoption of predictive analytics in agriculture. One of the most effective uses of predictive analytics will be in the area of pest control and management. A pest attack prediction model indicates in advance the risk of a pest attack. This enables farmers to plan and implement pre-emptive measures to completely ward off infestation. As a result, the farm losses reduce drastically and the income witnesses a significant increase.

• Fintech innovation in agriculture will expand

  Traditional financial institutions face large and systematic risks in providing assistance to agriculture. Fintech innovations address these concerns methodically and can help enhance the credit underwriting. A 2017 report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) finds that digital payment systems could cater to 40 per cent of the unmet need for payment services and 20 per cent of the need for credit​iv.

  The integration of agriculture and financial technologies is, hence, key to mainstream the marginalized smallholder farmer community. In 2020, we predict greater collaboration between agriculture and finance industries. These partnerships will pave the way to streamline target and price credit, share risks and harness the productivity of agriculture value chains digitally.

• Sustainable farming practices will gain prominence

  Agriculture is one of the most polluting and resource-intensive sectors. The sector emits more greenhouse gases than all the world’s cars, trains, trucks and airplanes. The run-offs from fertilizers and manures affects coastal ecosystems across the globe. Further, it is a major driver of biodiversity losses because large swathes of land are cleared to feed a growing population.

  In 2020, we expect greater awareness to be created around sustainable farming practices. Agtech companies can induce greater farmland efficiencies by addressing the challenge of yield gaps (i.e. the difference between current production levels and the potential through improved farming techniques) using high-tech, precision farming systems. Advanced technologies such as remote sensors, drones and GPS technologies can help in targeted resource application such as water, fertilizers and pesticides. Customized advice tailored to suit exact soil conditions of a farmland helps in minimizing the run-offs of excessive chemicals to the neighbouring areas.