Separate policy needed to accelerate agri startups in India: NITI Aayog

New Delhi, Apr 21 (KNN) Niti Aayog on Thursday said that a distinct agritech startup policy is needed to improve last-mile connectivity and ensure access to quality data and promote the local level of infrastructure for farm-level processing.

In its white paper on gearing Up To Solve Food Security Challenges', Aayog said that the agritech startup needs a different kind of support where they depend on government resources (data) and infrastructures (warehouse and cold storage) to a great extent.

The government think tank pointed out that at present only few states like Delhi and Maharashtra have startup policies to promote and nurture Agritech startups.

In the white paper, it pointed out that agritech solutions available in the market are making the lives of smallholders better by improving access to quality input, access to the market, reducing risks, access to information, and a host of other products and services, resulting in improved productivity and price realisation.

"Still, the agritech start-ups are not scaling up as fast as the start-ups in other sectors," the government think tank said, adding that they face challenges regarding access to quality data, regulations and the absence of agriculture-related infrastructure.

To ensure that all smallholders can benefit from the services and products of the agritech startups, the aayog suggested that the government needs to put significant effort into building the capacity of local institutions like the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs) or cooperatives.

It noted that due to fragmented land parcels and many smallholder farmers in India, it is challenging for start-ups to reach out to individual farmers.

Highlighting the need to promote the local level of infrastructure, the aayog said the government should promote the creation of local agriculture-related infrastructures by incentivising and providing financing from formal financial institutions.  (KNN Bureau)