agribazaar
March 13, 2023
The Indian farmer is a troubled lot, battling constraints of financial resources and indebtedness, low productivity, vagaries of nature etc. Their woes multiply manifold when they are not able to get the right price for their produce, they lack even basic storage facilities and are solely dependent on intermediaries. In short, it’s a difficult journey from farm to fork.
Technology can be of great assistance here and Agribazaar is showing the way forward. It’s a new-age e-mandi (online marketplace) that connects farmers to marketplaces, allowing small-farm owners, merchants, and customers to buy and sell agri-produce directly at the best price method without intermediaries. “We want to be the most trusted, transparent and tech-oriented agri-solutions company in India – across the entire value chain of pre- and post-harvesting,” says Amith Agarwal, co-founder and CEO, Agribazaar.
AgriBazaar was established in 2016 with the goal of transforming the post-harvest management services industry by providing farmers with tech-enabled, future-ready solutions in a frictionless manner. It is an independent entity of the StarAgri Group. “It is the only firm that provides end-to-end pre & post harvesting solutions through its integrated network of professionals, businesses and farmer producer organisations (FPO),” claims Agarwal. Agribazaar eases the process of pricing and information asymmetry for small and marginal farmers. It helps farmers get remunerative prices for their agri-produce through its online trading facility and owned wallet app, AgriPay.
Global agri-tech is more suited towards large fields and corporate farming that is not relevant and implementable in India, Agarwal points out. “Hence, we thought of
creating a technology solution for small and medium farmers which is apt for fragmented and small landholding as in India. Also, we wanted the farmer to earn and gain maximum from his produce, which currently gets leaked in various intermediary inefficiencies. Democratising information (commodity price), resources (farm inputs) and finance (agri-finance) for every Indian farmer is our critical mission.”
With the above aforementioned services, Agribazaar aims to simplify the overall agri-buying process for its stakeholders and give them easy access to commodity deals, auctions and assured quality. It is this vision that empowered Agribazaar to facilitate Rs 50,000 crore (GMV) worth of transactions since its inception, “making it one of India’s largest end-to-end online agri-trading marketplace,” says Agarwal.
Since its inception, the Agribazaar app platform has connected around 15,000 traders and processors, and over 125 farmer producer organisations (FPO). Currently, the app platform has 3.55 lakh farmers registered across 16 states and UT. The app has been installed by the users around 6500+ times. “Over 18 lakh metric tonne commodities have been successfully stored in more than 800 warehouses, by AgriBazaar’s group company, StarAgri facilitating food security. What makes it (app) unique is its instant accessibility feature to farmers at their fingertips,” says Agarwal.
The modern e-mandi follows a secure payment mechanism, powered by IndusInd Bank.“As founders, we have invested close to Rs 24 crore in Agribazaar, most of it coming from the parent company StarAgri. StarAgri has leading PE funds like Temasek Singapore and Investcorp as investors. In the near future, we aim to have one crore farmers registered on our app,” summarises Agarwal.
CONNECTED FARMING
* Agribazaar is an online marketplace for buying and selling of agri commodities
* Has facilitated Rs 50,000 cr worth of transactions
* Connected 15,000 traders, and over 125 FPOs
* Stored 18 lakh MT of commodities in more than 800 warehouses
Connect With Us