At the recently concluded Agri and Commodity Summit 2025, experts underscored the critical role that technology, digitisation, and public investments in agritech play in addressing the challenges posed by climate change to agriculture. The summit, held under the auspices of businessline, brought together industry leaders and innovators who shared insights on how India can harness its agricultural potential through advanced digital frameworks.
During a session titled “Tapping digitisation and technology for agri development,” Dr. Paresh Verma, Executive Director of Shriram Bioseed Genetics, emphasized the need for “political will” and enhanced coordination among stakeholders to fully leverage technological advancements for the benefit of farmers. He highlighted the current regulatory challenges, notably the inclusion of cottonseed under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, which he argued stifles innovation. Dr. Verma pointed out that while the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton has surged by nearly 190% over the last decade, seed prices have only seen a modest increase of 15%. This discrepancy, he noted, has hindered the agricultural sector’s ability to keep pace with evolving pest challenges, particularly the rise of the pink bollworm, which has led to significant cotton shortages affecting textile production.
The summit also spotlighted the transformative potential of the government’s Agri Stack initiative, which aims to digitize the food value chain. Hemendra Mathur, Co-founder of ThinkAg, remarked on the pivotal role of start-ups in driving this digitisation over the past 15 years, contributing to 90-95% of the sector’s innovations. He predicted that the Agri Stack program could significantly reduce transaction costs for farmers, particularly in securing loans from banks, although he stressed the necessity of obtaining farmers’ consent for such transactions. Mathur also discussed the funding landscape, noting a dramatic increase in capital infusion during the pandemic, with investments rising from around $100 million annually to $2-3 billion in 2021 and 2022. However, he cautioned that this trend has since moderated, necessitating public investments to make private funding more appealing.
Partha Ghosh, Programme Lead at Social Alpha, added another layer to the discussion by pointing out that only 15% of digitisation efforts have been integrated into the agricultural value chain. He highlighted the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning models aimed at predicting the impacts of weather, pests, and diseases on crops. Ghosh stressed that while the Agri Stack project promises to reduce insurance and banking costs, many organizations remain unprepared to embrace these technological advancements. He called for public sector investments to break down barriers to technology adoption, ensuring that economic benefits reach all stakeholders involved.
The Agri and Commodity Summit 2025, presented by Nabard and supported by various industry partners, served as a crucial platform for discussing these pressing issues. As the agricultural sector grapples with climate challenges, the insights shared at the summit could pave the way for a more resilient and technologically empowered farming landscape in India.
