Agritech startup Samhita Crop Care Clinics has piloted a drone-based health audit for every tree in a mosambi (sweet lime) plantation in Nalgonda district. "In our pilot, we discovered that only 40% of the trees in a plantation are healthy. The rest are in various stages of sickness and require special treatment," said Shyam Gunnamreddy, Chief Executive Officer of Samhita Crop Care Clinics.
Samhita executives visit each tree and give it a digital identity after creating a digital map of the plantation with a drone. The trees are divided into three categories: very sick trees that are about to die, healthy trees with a reduced ability to produce fruit, and trees with general problems.
"The good thing about citrus is that about 200 problems have been thoroughly documented." "We prioritized 50 of them that are most important," he said.
After categorizing the trees based on their health, the start-digital up's solution provides tailor-made prescriptions, saving farmers time and effort in reviving sick trees and rejuvenating others that require a dose of nutrients or pesticides.
According to Samhita, each tree should be given nutrients based on its needs, and no two trees should be given the same dose. According to the company, the life of a mosambi plantation has been reduced from about 24 years to 12 years due to the widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides.
"Mosambi is a crop with a long gestation period." Farmers reach breakeven in seven years. And, by the time they start to see profits, production has plummeted by year 12, resulting in significant losses," he said.
After covering 2,500 acres of mosambi, the start-up intends to expand its customized crop care services to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and other states where the citrus family of fruits is grown.
So far, the company has raised $1.5 million in a seed round and bootstrapped another $2 million to establish the network and technology backbone. "This year, we're hoping to raise $6 million to fund our expansion plans," he said.
The startup charges a fee of 10% of the total harvest value. "In addition to providing them with tailored services, we also assist them in locating the appropriate market. We build relationships with wholesale markets and urban retail stores to help them discover higher prices," Gunnamreddy explained.
