Supporting farmers with weather report, disease alert, advisory on crop protection

During this pandemic period, Kolkata-headquartered Farmneed supports the farmers with location specific weather report, disease alert and provides actionable advisory on crop protection. As the name aptly suggests, it is a company dedicated to the farmer community, especially when they need it the most that is during lifecycle stages. They monitor every bit of crop growing and offer guidance to farmers on further actionable and enable market access for them. It also creates a bridge between the agri-lenders and farmers to access the loan in a faster and hassle-free manner. Speaking to Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interview, Angshujyoti Das, Founder and CEO, Farmneed Agribusiness (FNAB) explains how the farmers stand to gain out of this new model and what the way forward is

You have been running this company called Express Weather. What prompted you to float this new company- FNAB? What was the trigger like?

Express Weather was pioneering weather data service in agriculture sector since 2012. With the key objective being agriculture focus, Farmneed is formed with adequate knowledge, foresight and passion.

Indian farm sector is witnessing a strong effort by new edge companies on empowering farmers with multiple service access via digital platforms. A majority of such efforts are linked with GPS based guidance and control systems, sensors, drones, satellites, weather tech, so on and so forth. We thought of doing something different or doing things differently. FNAB is born with legacy technology backbone of Express Weather.

I am lucky to have a strong founding team with Ritesh Singh, a post graduate in International Business from Ecole Des Ponts Business School, Paris, as co-founder and Faisel Irshad, an alumnus of London School of Economics and Political Science and American University, Washington (in Global Politics and International Affairs), as director, South East Asia. Both of them bring with them more than 20 years of industry experience.

So, how do you differentiate yourself from other agri-tech companies?

At FNAB, we understand that success in any tech is completely connected with ground level challenges of the beneficiary segment. So, we studied user level challenges deeply and found standalone tech has no role to play. Rather tech will be a burden to the farmer unless it is clubbed with adequate sector knowledge. Our study shows farm level stress including abiotic stress, water stress or challenges out of inclement/unfavorable weather conditions among major challenges, almost for every farm in India and in other developing or underdeveloped nations. So, we understood, sector knowledge is as important as technology. At the same time we put our strong effort to design a simple interface so that complexity of the technology should not remain as an entry barrier for the under privileged.

So, what exactly you do? Can you throw some light on that?

Powered with a proprietary model on crop disease, crop-weather and weather forecast, FNAB offers farm level insights on disease, pests (early warning) using deep tech and AI. Further, it enables users to get supported on bespoke solutions on plant protection, agri input use etc. Through this platform, farmers use to interact with renowned agronomists via video call or chat. They get essential weather forecasts, severe weather alerts, soil data on a futuristic scale. In Farmneed app, farmers are linked with industry experts via community and they can also be guided via podcast.

How many products or services, do you currently have? Can you throw some more light on your app?

At present, we offer two things: Technology Solutions and Agro Chemicals. The Farmneed app- Farmneed PRO is an enabler for smallholder farmers. It enables farmers' access to finance, bespoke information on weather, disease and crop management. The simple app also enables farmers' access to right input and creates market access. Farmneed is available in English and other vernacular languages.

Farmneed Pro users are connected with experts via 'Expert Eye'. The connected platform hosts a number of agriculture scientists to offer bespoke solution at farm level. The system brings forth huge archival information about each parcel of land in front of the scientists while analysing a problem. It also elaborates future trend for that particular parcel of land. Hence, the scientists guide a farm flawlessly from remote location. The farmers can interact with scientists directly via 'In App' video calling facility.

We also support farmers with agro chemical solutions. Our plant protection cycle starts at early warning of probable risk. We guide farmer to adopt plant protection strategy and we now have started advising on specific agro chemicals to the farmer. Conjoined with Bayer Crop Science, Farmneed introduces online platform for bulk and retail procurement of agri input. We deliver input within shortest possible time.

At the end of the day, how do farmers stand to gain from your various solutions?

We leverage our deep linkages with farms and its crops, and by leveraging that, Farmneed is capable of providing farm level traceability data to the supply chain. Farmneed's technology supports need based application of piscicides, which have been able to reduce pesticide use by 18 per cent last season. The same has surely reduced the cost of production and contamination thereof. Our services are available through a vernacular mobile app.

You have a Scout Connect Programme. What is that?

Scouts are the trained local youth on ground to support the farmers at their doorstep. They are empowered with the native app called Scout Connect. This app connects the local farmer base with a number of scouts engaged in a particular project. The app also flags anomalies for affected farmers, which enables quick response ability for the scouts.

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect your business? Or were you affected at all?

FNAB service, its beneficiaries or its progress was or is not impacted due to pandemic. Rather, being very young, we achieved significant milestones during pandemic, trained about 1300 farmers via video-based training and grabbed orders from Pepsico (Frito-Lay) to support 15,000 farmers, successfully done proof of concept (POC) with Agri-Entrepreneur Growth Foundation (AEGF), worked for potato seed cultivation projects with Government of West Bengal. Initiated pilot projects for paddy growers in Bangladesh.

Are your offerings and solutions available pan India at this point in time? Do you plan to go pan India? How do you propose to grow?

FNAB adopts channel business strategy to drive till the last mile. Our channels are generally stakeholders in agri value chain. At present, Farmneed services are available in eastern and western part of India. We also support B2C models. But certainly, we would like to mark our footprints and be present across the country at an appropriate time.