Investment in India Agri Start – Ups – Recent Trends

January 8, 2022

The AgFunder and Omnivore, a capital released the “India AgriFood Startup – Investment Report”. According to the report, the investment in agri and food tech start ups increased by 97% in 2020-21. It increased to 2.1 billion USD. The investments are mainly driven by restaurant funding.

Key Findings of the Report

The investment in the agri tech and food tech investments doubled. It was 1.1 billion USD in 2019-20.
The number deals signed by the startups increased from 133 in 2019-20 to 189 in 2020 – 21.
The restaurant market places raised 1.33 billion USD. It is 64% of total agri food tech funding.
The downstream startups raised 1.77 billion USD. This was in 2020-21 and was 140% higher than 2019 – 20. The downstream start up includes e – grocery, premium branded foods and restaurant market places. Zomato contributed to significant downstream investment. 1.2 billion USD.
The upstream start up investments decreased as compared to the previous years. The upstream startups are agricultural value chains, farmers. It contributed 42% of total investment in 2019 – 20. It fell to -15% in 2020-21.
Seed investments grew three fold.
The investments in the farm tech category were 527 million USD in 2020-21. It was 431 million USD in 2019-20.
The agribusiness market places raised 86 million USD in 2020-21. It was 30 million USD the previous year.

How did the investment increase?

The GoI acted as a key catalyst. The National Centre for Management and Agricultural Extension (MANAGE) was established. Food and Agri sector accelerators were launched by Department of Science and Technology. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (Irrigation sceheme) was launched. ATMA was established. ATMA is Agricultural Technology Management Agency.

Way Forward

The potential of Indian agricultural system is huge. The food and agricultural startups are digitizing the supply chain and are easing the burden on farmers.

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