Farmkart: Entwining the Physical and the Digital to Transform Agriculture
Anup Mandloi, COO
It is not too hard to notice that agriculture in India is riddled with inefficiencies. Despite the vast difference between each region and its requirements, the variants of the pesticides and fertilizers sold or equipments used to supplement agriculture remain more or less similar. In absence of products customised for their needs, farmers are forced to depend on retail stores which many a times drive their own pricing models. Herein challenges around demand and supply, affordability as well as accessibility to products surface. What aggravates the plight of farmers today is their unwillingness to adapt to the technological innovations.
Farmkart, a Madhya Pradesh based Agri-tech startup, is here to challenge the status-quo. With focus on delivering end-to-end solutions, the company is creating a convergence between the physical and digital realms to take a ‘phygital’ approach to solve the various issues in Indian agricultural ecosystem. This phygital approach is objectified in Farmkart’s flagship product- the Farmkart e-commerce platform which will deliver pesticides, fertilizers and farming tools and equipments. Developed to enable the technologically inexperienced farmers to leverage the solution, the Farmkart e-commerce platform boasts of a unique payment and delivery system. Providing further insight, Atul Patidar, CEO, Farmkart shares, “We have created a Unique Identity Code(UIC)system which assigns every farmer a digital identity’’. The UIC is a combination of all required information about the farmer - his/her name, address, delivery preference and more. So, whenever the farmers place an order, they can simply enter that UIC code and click submit and the order is done. The process of authentication and verification is done automatically by the system.” For delivery to
remote areas in India, Farmkart will leverage the community spirit that characterises most villages, where most individuals often transport products for their fellow community members. This is exactly how Farmkart will fulfill its orders i.e. through user to user delivery apart from having its own logistics arm to deliver the products. While the product will be dispatched only after the verification from the customer, the user delivering the order also stands to make monetary gains from the transaction.
Team Farmkart
“Available in multiple languages, Farmkart’s payment and delivery system has been developed following extensive market research and one-on-one interview of over 1500 farmers in the country,” says Anup Mandloi, COO, Farmkart. In addition, the company also provides Agriculture Consultancy Services whereby agronomists at Farmkart help farmers with detailed insights into cultivation completely free of cost. Farmkart also leverages its powerful machine learning algorithm that enables the team to process large scale topological information and create meaningful inference to understand co-relations between land structures, soil characteristics, weather patterns and more for the farmers’ benefit. Service centre for agricultural equipments is another facet of Farmkart’s services which will meet the farmer's need for quick repair services of agricultural equipment.
Built-up of a multi disciplinary team, Farmkart is driven by some of the brightest minds. Currently, the company is focusing on Madhya Pradesh. However, riding on the community driven model, the company hopes to grow across the country in no time. With nearly eight different technological products in its pipeline, Farmkart can be expected to deliver its proprietary products soon.
Team Farmkart
“Available in multiple languages, Farmkart’s payment and delivery system has been developed following extensive market research and one-on-one interview of over 1500 farmers in the country,” says Anup Mandloi, COO, Farmkart. In addition, the company also provides Agriculture Consultancy Services whereby agronomists at Farmkart help farmers with detailed insights into cultivation completely free of cost. Farmkart also leverages its powerful machine learning algorithm that enables the team to process large scale topological information and create meaningful inference to understand co-relations between land structures, soil characteristics, weather patterns and more for the farmers’ benefit. Service centre for agricultural equipments is another facet of Farmkart’s services which will meet the farmer's need for quick repair services of agricultural equipment.
Built-up of a multi disciplinary team, Farmkart is driven by some of the brightest minds. Currently, the company is focusing on Madhya Pradesh. However, riding on the community driven model, the company hopes to grow across the country in no time. With nearly eight different technological products in its pipeline, Farmkart can be expected to deliver its proprietary products soon.
