Magazine
Looking around us, it’s plain to see how our world is going digital and the agriculture industry is no exception to that change. Agritech has grown enormously and is revolutionizing the traditional way in which the agriculture industry used to function. Every aspect of the agri value chain is getting disrupted by agritech companies.
Here are some agritech trends that are beyond innovative:
1. Farmer-Focused Technologies
These are agritech trends that are farmer-centric:
Platform Services For Farmers
Farmers have embraced change and are digitizing rapidly using various agritech platforms to manage the many aspects of their farming business. They have started provisioning inputs from various agritech platforms, while also using these platforms to sell their produce on a wider scale. With these agritech platforms, customers can order the produce online with all the details of the produce at their disposal. It also gets delivered right at their doorstep. The platforms help solve access to quality services by farmers.
Product Development Focused On Bio-Products:
A large number of companies are working on bio-products that have a minimal negative impact on the soil and crop. These biological products improve the overall health of produce and the environment in which they grow, promoting healthy crop yields. It positively affects the harvest rather than causing erosion or exploitation of the ground, in turn leading to a decline in soil quality.
Agrifintech
Fintech companies are now beginning to help farmers by using risk analytics and farm management tools. Fintech platforms are working to build more farmer-specific products. Some companies have started offering products such as cashless loans that help farmers get access to low-cost digital credit. This approach allows them to purchase products at the point of sale. Farmers receive a virtual credit card, through which they can buy high-quality products on credit, thereby eliminating the middleman.
Farmers have embraced change and are digitizing rapidly using various agritech platforms to manage the many aspects of their farming business
They also have access to new insurance products that are custom made using data from various farm related activities combined with satellite data, It also opens an avenue for them to availloan offerings based on new datasets originating from digital platforms.
Deep Tech
Deep tech is enabling various services for farmers. Farmers can also use sensors to regulate the usage of chemicals, nutrients, and water in their fields. Leveraging Electrochemical Sensors, they can gather key information required for precision agriculture. The sensors gather information on pH, soil nutrient levels, and map soil chemical data without the need for complicated methods. Farmers can also use Soil Moisture Sensors to assess moisture and water levels in their soil.
2. Agriculture-Focused Enterprise Technologies
These technological innovations are based on improving agricultural quality:
Blockchain
Blockchain's can be used to solve issues such as recalls, food fraud, supply chain inefficiency, and food traceability in the current food system. Blockchain’s unique decentralized structure ensures verified products and practices to create a market for products with transparency. This is especially important in the agriculture sector since its highly decentralized in nature with multiple players involved in taking the food from the farm to the table.
Image- And Video-Based Technologies
Imaging and video-based technology can be effective for sorting and grading produce, with the ability to characterize said produce by colour, size, and shape. Farmers can use an app to monitor their produce regularly and set up a grading process that’s best suited to them. Imaging and video technologies also help insurance companies in making assessments of crop losses by using satellite images and identifying flood patterns and preparing a flood-risk product.
Use Of Satellite Data
Floods and droughts can be disastrous for farming. This is where satellites come into the picture. They can help monitor and forecast severe weather conditions or areas prone to disaster based on previously recorded images. The more information that farmers have about these weather conditions, the better they can react and prevent themselves from undergoing massive losses. Satellites provide an accurate assessment of a field’s productivity based on the historically gathered data. Insurers can also predict the productivity of any given field at any given time.
