Traditional innovations seldom reach market success because of various factors affecting their adoption, especially in emerging markets. Digital agriculture has offered profound opportunities to accelerate transformation in the agricultural ecosystem. There is enough evidence that confirms that digital agriculture is driven by private entrepreneurs.
Plantix’s efforts to digitally transform agriculture
One such startup is Plantix, an Indo-German agri-tech company that focuses on the needs of farmers to reduce yield losses. Plantix is an enabler of access to the gamut of scientific innovations across agriculture, right from the start of the crop production cycle through improved seeds, crop nutrition and crop protection with the best package of practices in agronomic management.
Plantix provides a solution to the targeted problem/need faced by the farmer with AI-backed disease detection and followed by advisory to manage pests and diseases. Plantix has innovated digital technologies to connect ecosystem players by linking appropriate value chain actors. The goal of Plantix' intervention is to lower the cost of crop production in farming with sustainable climate and environmentally friendly solutions which will lead to an increase in farmer income.
The approaches provide an informative way to unpack the diversity of adoption by semi-literate farmers around the globe. Plantix wants novelty in the use of digital technologies to integrate agricultural production from farmer fields to the consumer. These technologies provide the agro-ecosystem with tools and information that enhance informed decisions for sustaining high productivity.
Key Challenges faced
Plantix has been facing key barriers in terms of connectivity and digital literacy in economies like India. Hence the strategy is to look at the opportunity of realizing the value of digital interventions through demonstration of return on investment which will also increase adaptation rates.
However, lack of confidence in data privacy and security among stakeholders and governance arrangements are necessary to encourage data sharing across the ecosystem.
Plantix will focus to accelerate digital transformation in agriculture with science-backed technologies and make farmers resilient to climate change in the future.
