Agri-tech: experiential learning from the Agri-tech growth leaders

Abstract

This research study analyses the critical issues in Agri-tech start-up growth in India and explores ways to improve the process. Research methods are triangulated to understand Agri-tech entrepreneurs’ opinions and experiences. After the articles and reports were reviewed, a statistical analysis of a user opinion survey of two hundred and two Agri-tech users was conducted. Post survey, three rounds of semi-structured interviews among the twenty-two Agri-tech entrepreneurs and experts helped in fine-tuning the findings. The key issues highlighted in the findings are the availability of low-interest and creative financing models; Infrastructure availability and incubation support; Cross-domain quality solutions with multiple levels of features; Supportive mindset of business customers and partners; and Skill-building and Training of farmers. This research is one of the few academic studies on Agri-tech entrepreneurship and includes the COVID-19 pandemic effect. The findings help the researchers build the knowledge base of agriculture 4.0 entrepreneurship. Suggestions may help the practitioner boost the growth of Agri-tech solutions. In addition, the study highlights innovative suggestions like setting up an open national database of core parameters, cloud computing-based agriculture 4.0 digital stack, digitalising farmer producer organisations, and monitoring plus organisational evaluation setup.