Agritech Beyond Being a Trader with an App

Posted on October 11th, 2023

So, what are agritech companies promising? Their goal is to make supply chains efficient in addition to providing better access to agriculture inputs for farmers as also building resilience. They offer technology solutions with buyer-supplier matching as a central function to connect different stakeholders in the value chain. Their integrated value-add services in logistics and warehousing, quality assessment, traceability, and financial services can create a huge impact on farmer incomes.

Big agri companies are also in the race, and are trying to develop their own apps and software platforms. According to an Inc42 report, among all the sub-sectors in agritech, market linkage has the highest potential to reach USD 12 billion by 2025.

The problem of plenty

With so many smart agri solutions in the market, how can our farmers choose the right one?

One of the major challenges is that most agritech platforms focus on solving one aspect of the supply chain, and farmers need cohesive solutions that address the entire production process. They may feel overwhelmed with the many solutions offered and from the need to log in to separate platforms.

Most farmers in India are marginal or small landholding farmers, and hence, may not even be technologically capable of comprehending smart data. These specific challenges require hyperlocal solutions that work in local demands and context.

Another moot point is – how can agritech companies use the data on their apps to help farmers add value to the entire food chain? How can they translate data back to increase production efficiencies on the farm? Farmers don’t just need smartphones; they need smart inputs as well. They need technology support at every stage of the agri value chain from soil to sale, from farm to fork.

As India’s only multidimensional full-stack agri-commerce company, WayCool Foods has a whole gamut of tech interventions that help crop cultivation planning, enhance farm productivity, ensure food traceability, create transparency in pricing, eliminate supply chain inefficiencies and food wastage. These also help manage a cost-effective distribution system so that everyone benefits – farmers get improved returns for their produce, and consumers get fresh and safe food.

The time has come for India’s agritech ecosystem to evolve to the next level, and WayCool is leading this change from the front.

Farmers – the Backbone of our Nutritional Chain

Posted on October 11th, 2023

“The farmers are the founders of civilization.”

Daniel Webster

National Farmers’ Day, celebrated on December 23, is an ode to India’s former prime minister and ‘Champion of Indian Peasants’ Chaudhary Charan Singh. Mr Singh brought in reforms that revolutionized agriculture in India, and to this day, it reminds people of the importance farmers hold. Farmers ensure the provision of safe and healthy food on our plates. The importance of a farmer exemplifies the need to provide them with the latest technologies, equip them with knowledge and ensure their financial sustenance.

Agriculture is still predominantly practised in India as a primary source of income by a significant percentage of the population. The sector still contributes 15%-20% to the national GDP, irrespective of the changing trends towards the secondary and tertiary sectors. The movements held by the farmers, often supported by the masses, have led to timely changes in the industry standards and remuneration as well as technological changes. This ranges from increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for crops to acquiring subsidies for latest technologies and required inputs. However, the harsh reality is that the majority of the farmers in India are micro land holders, i.e., they operate on a farm holding of approximately 1-2 hectares. The effects of this are observed in their lack of adaptation to mixed farming or latest forms of technology, which not only reduce the yield produced by their farm and their income but also reduce the nutritional value of the crop. While different measures and schemes have been rolled out to support the farmers through different means, such as the development of the Farmer Producer Organizations, an approach of duality must be followed to ensure farmer and crop benefits.

One way to ensure marginal farmer sustenance is the development of FPOs in the country, which ensure more efficient usage and provision of technology for modern agriculture. Another is the movement towards regenerative farming. Regenerative farmers have a significant impact on the type of food that goes on the plates of the people, with it becoming increasingly important as people are moving towards a more natural and regenerative lifestyle. The lack of chemicals and pesticides with which the crops are grown ensures that one gets adequate nutrients without the long-term impact on health.

The practice and disseminating knowledge of regenerative farming via training at WayCool serves a dual purpose with respect to its long-term goals and vision, i.e., improving rural livelihood and climate action. The practice of regenerative farming increases the yield of the crop, improves the nutritional value of soil and increases the income of the farmer to name a few of its overarching benefits. The WayCool OARS (Outgrow Agricultural Research Station) model farm not only engages in these practices firsthand, but also conducts training programs to spread the discourse pertaining to regenerative farming and its technicalities.

In the year 2021, 2,844 farmers have been contracted by WayCool’s Outgrow Programme, while 78 farmers have undergone training at the OARS model farm. Such regenerative practices of natural fertilizers, zero tillage, organic manure, cover crops, livestock integration, integrated nutrient management, soil testing, automated irrigation and more has ensured significant increase in crop yield while also making it a profitable and self-sustaining farm.

Busting India’s ‘Food Scarcity’ Myth

Posted on October 11th, 2023

India is among the world’s leading producers of milk, food grains (cereals and pulses), and fruits and vegetables. In addition to these products, our country also produces ample quantities of sugarcane, cotton, fish and poultry. That India has a food scarcity problem because we do not produce enough is a myth.

In 2019-20, India’s total production of food grains reached a record high of 296.65 million tonnes and total horticultural production peaked at an all-time high of 320.48 million tonnes.

The real crux of India’s food scarcity issue is its fragmented supply chain that makes the entire agricultural ecosystem complex for all stakeholders. It takes anywhere between 7 to 11 steps for food to travel from farm to fork i.e., from the farmer to the consumer!

Moreover, the lack of seamless information flow between stakeholders of the agri value chain poses a major hurdle. Timely and accurate information must be available with all market participants in order to avoid high levels of food loss. The limited demand visibility with food producers results in disrupted supplies, volatile prices, low remuneration for farmers, and uncertain supplies and prices for discerning consumers.

According to a UN report, an estimated 931 million tonnes of food was wasted globally in 2019 with India alone losing food equivalent to the total amount of food consumed by Brazil.

To rejuvenate the country’s food economy, India needs to reimagine a tech-driven supply chain that:

1. Ensures all market participants are seamlessly interconnected on a single, unified tech platform that facilitates real-time information availability.

2. Provides integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Language (ML) analytics tools that optimises the entire supply chain, and

3. Automates a major chunk of the supply chain for enhanced productivity and faster and agile handling of perishable products.

An integrated ecosystem for all stakeholders

An integrated tech platform is pivotal for supply and demand planning at both macro and micro levels. Such a platform will serve as an ecosystem not just for farmers and consumers, but also for other stakeholders like processors, Warehouse Service Providers (WSPs), logistics providers, and retailers.

By bringing all the stakeholders on an integrated tech platform, not only will we create a cohesive, transparent ecosystem, but also boost efficiencies by eliminating inaccuracies in demand and supply planning.

Leveraging such a platform will help:

1. Farmers use the available long-term forecasts to grow crops based on a scientifically anticipated demand, and short-term forecasts to understand the forecasted market prices that will help them decide exactly when to harvest.

2. Millers and processors to plan their processes that are tightly aligned to consumer demands on one side and supply frequencies from farmers on the other side.

3. Logistics players to develop a cohesive view of what needs to be transported when.

This real-time visibility significantly improves planning and ensures that all stakeholders are working in tandem.

How AI/ML analytics integrated within the platform works

Long-term demand forecasting models will help farmers grow the right crops based on the forecast and the soil content. Several models around growing techniques and packaging practices can also help them accurately predict product yields and enhance their income.

Retailers can leverage the embedded analytics models for consumer insights to understand what commodity sells in a particular community and stock the relevant products accordingly. With advancements in technology, we can even go to the extent of predicting which variant of rice or fruits and vegetables are more likely to be consumed in which street! These detailed insights help retailers stock the right Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) that not only improves their earning capacity but also avoids wastages of slow-moving stock.

For the supply chain players, predictive analytics is core to demand planning. They can use the forecasts and supply information to run network optimisation as well as reduce Food Miles thereby minimising food loss.

Once enough information is fed into the tech platform, it becomes easy to analyse how much produce can be generated from a particular region as well as the consumption pattern in surrounding regions to make a sound decision. The same insights can then be shared with the farmers to make informed decisions.

Automation for an uninterrupted supply chain

When one deals with food and perishables, there are two critical elements from a logistics perspective – ensuring that the produce moves from the source to the consumer in the shortest possible time, and minimising the physical handling of the produce as every human touch reduces the shelf-life of the product.

Automation is not just a strategic lever but an important cog in the seamless management of the entire food supply chain. While we have seen the use of automation in food processing, it still remains sluggish in the rest of the supply chain, barring a few new-age players.

Automation has delivered phenomenal results in sectors such as the automotive and electronics industry. This could make way for frugal engineering solutions that ably support the complex cost structures in the food industry.

There are several use cases for automation in the food supply chain such as robots assisting in base-level functions of moving boxes or crates of the produce along conveyor belts, automated systems for grading, sorting, and dispensing precise quantities of grains as well as fresh produce into packing machines. Companies such as Ocado are building such solutions for developed markets. However, similar solutions are required for emerging markets at cost structures more suited for these markets. Besides increasing productivity, these solutions reduce effort and errors, and improve ergonomics, factors that are as important in emerging markets as they are elsewhere.

Automation can also be used in sorting and grading processes based on the quality of food grains and fresh produce. Examples include IoT-integrated decision conveyor systems that automatically match the supply crates to specific customer orders and allow produce to seamlessly flow through fulfilment centres without any human intervention.

Three is the key

From a process maturity viewpoint, food tech and especially agri-commerce is just evolving from a diagnostic stage to a better defined predictive and prescriptive model. Once this transition is completed, opportunities are immense not only in reducing food wastages but across different elements of the supply chain.

The three key elements – an integrated tech platform, embedded analytics and automated supply chain – must seamlessly interconnect to truly get to the core of solving India’s food scarcity issue. WayCool is consistently working towards it and redefining India’s food supply chain to ensure food security.

Building Grain Grading Systems for the Future

Posted on October 11th, 2023

Quality is not something we should be willing to compromise on. The post-harvest quality of foodgrains and pulses sets the agenda for all the stages further down the ‘grain chain’ – the sequence of events that leads through milling and packing to consumption.

Grain quality is determined by several factors, from the climatic and soil conditions during the growing season to weather conditions at harvest, harvesting techniques, post-harvest handling, storage, and transportation.

Every type of grain possesses properties that contribute to its overall quality. These properties, either on its own or combined, are assessed to grade and determine the value of the grain. Grain quality is analysed just after harvest so that the procured grain can be segregated into separate storage areas, each containing the grain of a specific quality.

The need for standard grading 

Accurate grading of grains is critical to ensure that an objective standard is used to determine the price of the grain, thus protecting both the buyer and seller.

Where buyers are close to the source of the grain, e.g. in local markets, they have direct access to the product and therefore, some control over quality assessment. However, where grain is traded over large distances, particularly internationally, the buyer will have no direct influence over the quality.

For the seller, the absence of standard grading processes results in subjectivity and uncertainty over the realised vs realisable price.

The use of grading standards sends a clear indication of quality requirements to both the producer and the buyer. With over 420 standard test methods, of which at least 75 are internationally applicable, there is a large diversity in grain measurement and grading.

These tests eventually measure four main properties:

1. Bushel (test) Weight/Grain size
2. Moisture Contents
3. Proportion of Foreign Material
4. Broken/Cracked Kernels

Challenges in India’s grain grading

Grain grading remains a major challenge in India. In a majority of villages, traders simply approach a farmer at the market, cursorily inspect the grain by hand and quote the price they’re willing to pay him. The farmer has no scientific way to assess the grain quality in order to demand a fair price. With a lack of scientific data, all that prevails is the ad hoc price that the trader quotes based on his judgment.

Methods to instantly assess the quality of grains hold the key to grain grading systems of the future, and a lot of research goes into it. In India, a few “portable” devices have been developed that can check the quality of grains and pulses. However, not only are such devices prohibitively expensive (costing upwards of INR 15 lakhs) they are also bulky and difficult to be carried around, especially in remote farms, making them sub-optimal for on-field grading.

How WayCool overcame grain grading challenges

While there are some technologies that help measure grain quality effectively, they remain out of reach of Indian farmers due to the high cost and the lack of a well-developed on-farm infrastructure in our country.

There is a need for technology that would allow farmers and graders to quickly and accurately assess the grains at a fraction of the cost incurred on expensive machines. It must be ubiquitous so that every farmer and grader can measure the quality of the produce without much difficulty or advanced training. If there exists an indigenous technology that can be carried in our pockets to instantly determine the quality of grains and pulses by simply spreading them on a piece of paper, it needs to be made accessible to every farmer.

WayCool has cracked the code, having developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning-powered solution that will help Indian farmers and graders accurately and instantly assess the size, count, and the quality of their grains and pulses using only their daily companion – their smartphone!

Watch this space for more.