AgTech: The Future of Farming

History of the Glorious Bharat:

Before I start to glorify this subject, let`s understand where we come from! India was/is a land of spices, trade, textiles and agriculture. This is what magnets the world towards us today and in historic times as well. We have been looted, bruised, used and manipulated till the last drop would juice out, but India Inc. has always been a punching doll who knows how to bounce back with ferocity and enthusiasm. 

In 1965 after India went to war with Pakistan which consumed a massive economic setback, followed by a dreadful drought that devastated our agrarian stronghold. India was debt ridden such that we were living ship-to-mouth, we would have to wait for the ships to arrive from USA Aid with lowest quality grains (PL 480) to feed our nation. India didn’t have enough food reserves to feed the nation twice a day, it was back then that the then Prime Minister Hon Laal Bahadur Shastri announced ‘Bhog Tyaag’ and the entire nation would eat only one meal per day, Mondays were fasting days across the whole nation. 

India was suffering unemployment, famine and population explosion all at once. In 1965 the global population was rising and just like India, other nations were suffering food crisis which led to the popular campaign ‘The 1965 Birth Control Revolution’ where the production and usage of oral contraceptives boomed (20 pills in a month) and pharmaceutical giants emerged as economic superstars until many NGOs and women`s rights activists curbed this practice under humanitarian grounds.

India has always been the think-tank that reboots the Phoenix out of ashes! When the world viewed ‘The Population Bomb’ as a threat, Indian scientist Dr. M. S. Swaminathan (Father of Indian green revolution) with the support of American agronomist Norman Borlaug (Father of green revolution) knew that population and farmlands are the assets that will get the finest ROI in the decades to arrive

India: The food basket to the world.

More than 21 lakh tractors mincing soil across the 52.62% arable landmass in India, we can certainly prove the world how we can emerge as a food superpower without hampering our 23.83% forest area.

Agriculture (including dairy and animal husbandry) provides 53% employment and that makes it the largest job producer in India, the FAO stats have time and again proved our farming and rearing supremacy and excellence.  

From a drought and famine affected nation (1965) to the country that is the largest food provider to the world (2018), India has slogged a long and tiring journey. Few facts below prove our stats in the new world order! 

AgTech: The New Age Green Revolution 

Desert Control is a Norwegian company who was recently awarded first prize at Climate Launchpad (A clean-tech business competition that attracted more than 700 entries from 28 countries across Europe) The product that earned Desert Control top honours was (LNC) Liquid Nano Clay, a mixture of water and clay that is mixed in a patented process and used to transform sandy desert soils into fertile ground. The trails of LNC in UAE and other desert land countries have proved effective and now claim to use half the water for double the produce!     

It found that Liquid Nano Clay acts as a catalyst for Mycorrhizal fungi when nourishment is available, with the fungi responsible for the increased yield. Clay is a fundamental component of productive arable land, acting as a water-holder, providing elasticity, and allowing non-clay elements to bind to the soil. In the past, adding clay to dry land. The water and clay is mixed on site using the patented process, and then traditional irrigation systems such as sprinklers or water wagons are used to spread it across the sandy soil. The individual clay flakes bind to the surface of the sand particles with a Van der Waals binding, significantly increasing the ability of the soil to hold water and nutrients. 

The Opportunity and Widespace

Imagine a case where you use half the water, get double the produce and sustain thrice the crop in an uncertain deserted region of 53 degree Celsius! Agriculture is soon taking the business world by storm and has seen a yield to value benefit of Rs 11.5 lakhs to Rs 21.7 lakhs per hectare (2.4 acres) the AgroTech businesses have seen a 23% rise in YoY investment cumulative. No more food dependency and consumption of purely organic eatables.   

I personally feel, “If you are ready to invest in your Farmer, you need not waste money on your Pharmacist”

Ready to invest?? 

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