[Infographic] Agriculture startups landscape in India

The agriculture sector is a major contributor to India's GDP. However, innovation and startups have been few and far between. What ails this sector and what are the roadblocks for startups here? Check out this infographic to know more.

The Vodafone YourStory developer meetup for agriculture was an eye-opener in terms of the challenges plaguing the sector. The path-breaking startups that were part of the meetup brought up ground realities and the innovations they are leading. The future of agriculture in India depends on these innovations taking root. Read on for detailed insights.

Overview: Agriculture Startup Landscape in India

• Although Indian agriculture ranks 2nd worldwide in farm output, it has had a steady decline in the contribution of India's GDP
• Agripreneurs are bringing in lots of innovations in the Agriculture startup ecosystem, redefining the categories, processes which they follow and the targeted audience
• Although there have been various innovations regarding agriculture in the past, adoption of Internet and Mobile technologies and enabling collaboration have definitely enabled newer opportunities
• Bringing in talented workforce and gaining government support are major milestones to cross for this sector

Section 1: Lay of the Land

• Only 20% of Agricultural startups are profit-generating
• 44% startups in Agri-Education are looking for funding
• 62% startups related to Crop Production are profitable
• 87% startups related to Crop Production & 55% related to Food Processing are bootstrapped
• Food processing, automation/technology and agri-education are the major   categories in agriculture startups
• Nearly half of the startups dealing in agri-education are looking for funding
• One-third of the startups are facing challenges in finding adequate talent. Most startups seem have a team size of less than 5 people

Section 2: Technology Adoption

• 30% startups have mobile presence
• Only 25% startups in Crop Production and Food Processing are leveraging Cloud/SaaS
• 63% Agri-Education startups are using Website, Social Media and Community Engagement
• Even in this era of widespread mobile technology adoption, this sector lags in both mobile and internet penetration in a relevant manner

Section 3: Challenges & Enablers

• Nearly half the startups face challenges in finding adequate talent
• 25% Crop Production Agriculture startups need support in Technology
• 45% startups catering to farmers feel they lack adequate government support
• About 32% expected help in the form of funding or marketing enablement
• Nearly half the startups expect more ecosystem support in incubation and growth
• Agriculture startups are realizing that they need adequate talent and support to cater to their consumers with better products and solutions

Insight: Current technology adoption in this sector is low and coupled with inadequate talent, the creation and growth of agriculture startups is facing challenges. Massive ecosystem support from Government, Universities and Corporates is the need of the hour

What do you think about starting up in the agriculture sector in India? Have you had a different experience? Share it with us in the comments!