#4 Apps That are Changing the Face of Indian Agriculture There is a need to enhance the level of farm mechanization in the country.

Majority of Indian population still depends on agriculture as the main occupation. Not only is it the main source of livelihood for many but also the largest contributor to national GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Many farmers are still deprived of minimum facilities and that is one of the major reasons for low agricultural productivity in India. The Economic Survey 2017-18, highlighted that the percentage of agricultural workers of the total workforce would drop to 25.7 per cent by 2050 from 58.2 per cent in 2001. Therefore, there is a need to enhance the level of farm mechanization in the country. As a result, few startups are developing innovative ways to help and empower the farmer community.

Entrepreneur India lists out few Indian startups that are revolutionizing Indian agriculture with mobile apps for farmers.

NaPanta: Founded by Naveen Kumar V, Agritech startup NaPanta facilitates farmers to book agri-equipment rentals and sales from his own farmland. The marketplace also helps the farmers to sell their farm produce to their customers without any middlemen with their choice of pricing. By using this free mobile app, a farmer can access real-time and dynamic information pertaining to daily Market Prices of 3500+ Markets and 300+ Agri commodities along with 3-year price trend of with a simple mobile internet connection.

The best feature of this application is that it can be accessed without the internet.

Mandi Trades: Bengaluru- based startup Mandi Trades helps Indian farmers, dealers sell their produce locally to reduce wastage and transportation costs. Founded by Edvin Varghese, Mandi Trades provides Agri-businesses, the technology and expertise needed to create a smarter and low-cost food supply for consumers in India. The app allows a farmer to post details of his crops directly from his smartphone. Buyers and traders can also access the crops available locally within his location.

AgriApp: Developed by Jayalaxmi agrotech, an agriculture mobile technology solution provider, Agriapp provides a one-click link to all agriculture apps, horticulture apps, and animal husbandry apps in Google Playstore. The crop-specific application also provides end -to- end information about each crop. The start-up aims to empower farmers with information and help as decision support system in crop management and build a food secured nation. The app is currently available in English and other regional languages.

RainbowAgri Market: Coimbatore-based Selva Kumar, Founder of Greeno Tech Solutions developed RainbowAgri app to enable direct buying of farm produce and farm Inputs. The start-up's mission is to connect a suitable buyer for a farm produce within 2 minutes. With this app, farmers can do many things like: List farm produce and fix a price that you want to sell, add text description about the product, view potential buyers list /sellers list and get notified whenever there is someone interested in your product.