6 Farm to Fork Supply Chain Startups in India

Conventionally, farm-to-fork or farm to table or farm to plate, is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (farmer). However, in context of Indian Startups, Farm to Fork Supply Chain Startups in India usually refer to startups that are either helping farmers sell their produce directly to consumers.

Farm to Fork Supply Chain Startups use technology to introduce supply chain efficiencies into the largely unorganised fruit and vegetable sector and ensure better prices for the farmer and consumers.

According to a 2019 NASSCOM report, there were more than 450 startups in the agri-tech space in the country. Media reports suggest that even during the pandemic year, the agri-tech sector saw a 11.9 per cent growth in interest from investors in terms of funding. 

1. FarmerFZ

Setup Pradeep PS in 2015, Farmers Fresh Zone (FarmersFZ) is helping farmers sell pesticide-free vegetables and fruits directly to customers without the intervention of middlemen. The farmers get paid on weekly basis through their bank accounts.

Apart from ensuring a fair price for farmers’ produce, the startup has also developed a tech-based algorithm for yield prediction and profit calculation, depending on the data collected from them.

2. Crofarm

Crofarm is another startup helping farmers receive full value of their produce, on time and digitally. They have a transparent pricing system that enables farmers to earn more when compared with the mandi.

Crofarm also guides farmers on produce specifications that fetch more value in the market. Their unique approach enables produce to be harvested on-demand and reach farm-to-fork in less than 12 hours.

4. DeHaat:

Founded by Shashank Kumar and Amrendra Singh in 2012, DeHaat offers agricultural services like access to agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers at affordable prices, personalized assistance, soil testing, weather reports, micro-finance, and insurance. It also provide the farmers with the flexibility to order input through and even sell their output directly to Dehaat through the app itself.

As of May 2021, Dehaat has about 3,50,000 registered farmers, more than 1000 centers and about 250 corporate buyers.

5. NinjaCart

Ninjacart is a tech-driven supply chain company for for fresh produce. They connect producers of food directly with retailers, restaurants, and service providers using in-house applications that drive end to end operations.

Founded by Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Kartheeswaran K K, Ashutosh Vikram, Sharath Loganathan and Vasudevan Chinnathambi in June 2015, Ninjacart started as a B2C hyperlocal food delivery startup. It was transformed into a B2B agritech startup in order to solve the fresh agricultural produce supply chain problem for the farmers and the retailers. 

So far, Ninjacart has raised $164.2 million from Tiger Global Management, Accel, Qualcomm Ventures and Steadview Capital. As per their website, Ninjacart’s supply chain is equipped to move 1400 tonnes of perishables from farms to businesses, every day, in less than 12 hours.

6. KrishiHub

KrishiHub is building a technology-driven Agri ecosystem for Indian farmers through an intelligent fresh produce supply chain and an advisory platform to reduce crop wastage from farm to fork. KrishiHub runs a fully managed supply chain starting from procurement until the products are delivered to the customer’s doorstep

They also provide a detailed knowledge base on cultivation, land preparation, best practices and more on 100+ organic and non-organic crops. The information includes tutorial and articles for organic farming and latest technologies available for modern farming techniques.

7. AgriBazaar

Founded in 2016, Mumbai-based AgriBazaar is an online platform which helps connect farmers, traders, banks, enterprises and governments. Modelled on the traditional Mandi system, the startup provides a digital platform for small farmers and merchants to directly sell and buy farm produce without the involvement of middlemen.

Through direct linkages Agribazaar aims to bring efficiency, transparency, and traceability in the trading system. As per their webiste, by June 2020, Agribazaar already 1 lakh users, 33000 listed auctions and over INR 14000 crore GMV.

Disclaimer: The above Farm to Fork Supply Chain Startups are in no particular order or ranking.