[RAISE 2020] How this Bengaluru-based startup is modernising agriculture through IoT and AI

228 Comments / Industry Updates / 6 minutes of reading

Founded in 2019, GramworkX has built an IoT and AI-enabled smart farm resource management tool that helps farmers to monitor micro-climatic conditions of their farms, quantify irrigation and with irrigation prediction so that they can take accurate, proactive and preventive decisions.

Around 48 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people depend on agriculture. The country’s agricultural GDP stands at $396 billion as of 2018 and ranks second worldwide in farm output.

However, the Indian agribusiness ecosystem is significantly fragmented and unorganised with multiple levels of intermediaries and middlemen across the agricultural value chain. Despite the agritech sector having strong investment activity in the last few years, the market penetration in the sector is still very low (1 percent), according to a latest EY report. The untapped market potential, opportunities in agritech, global investment, and a robust policy framework will drive growth in this space over the next decade, the report added.

Tapping into the market, GramworkX was founded in 2019 to bring “predictability to farming”. This Bengaluru-based startup helps in precision farming by integrating field data, weather patterns, and crop information to drive agronomic advice to farmers.

Founded by K A Gopalakrishnan and Supriya Ananthakrishnan, GramworkX has built an IoT and AI-enabled smart farm resource management tool that helps farmers by monitoring micro-climatic conditions of their farms, quantifying irrigation, and irrigation prediction so that they can take accurate, proactive and preventive decisions.

“Our solution helps in yield improvement, providing analytical insights into water consumption patterns across fields and soil types ultimately enabling data-based decision support systems for farmer and farming organisations,” says Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, GramworkX.

“We aim to provide products at affordable prices for the farmers for a sustainable tomorrow,” he adds.

The initial days

“My desire to explore social entrepreneurship led me to join as a facilitator at Jagriti Yatra across India. In the journey, one of the areas that clearly hit me was agriculture. While it is the oldest occupation in the world, the penetration of technology was very low,” Gopalakrishnan tells YourStory.

After having deep discussions with farmers, the founders realised that weather and water were the most important aspects that impacted the yield of the crop. However, the farmers were restricted by scant data or a decision support system for them to make decisions.

“For example, farmers use drip irrigation technologies to improve water use efficiencies, but yet they do not know when and how much to irrigate. These inputs from farmers led to our ‘aha’ moment, and we decided to develop our technology and bring predictability to agriculture,” he says.

How it works

GramworkX provides an on-ground IoT device that continuously monitors key farm parameters. The on-ground data gathered, combined with the startup’s pre-built ML prediction algorithms, help farmers with data-based information and decision support. The farmers use the Kisan App to get daily recommendations and information. Currently, the app operates in five languages and aims to continuously expand language offerings.

“We launched our android app on Independence Day this year, and have over 500+ users using this app. During the lockdown, we also launched a digital marketplace to help farmers connect with potential buyers and vice-versa. Over 100+ farmers and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) have utilised this platform. We have helped them connect to over six large organised buyers and obtain a better price for their crops,” says Gopalakrishnan.

“We continuously iterate the product based on customer feedback. We plan to launch a new version of our solar-powered IoT device in November this year, along with version 2.0 of our Android app. The technology has been developed in-house and we pride in being ‘Made in India’,” he adds.

The dream team

Gopalakrishnan has over seven years of work experience in the semiconductor industry. He has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, US, and BE in Electronics from Mumbai University. He is not only a hardware technologist, but also a passionate farmer.

Supriya and Gopal are siblings. Supriya comes with over five years of work experience across five different countries in technology project management and strategy management. She has a Masters in Engineering Management from Dartmouth College, US and pursued BTech in Electronics and Communications from BITS, Pilani.

“We are a seven-member strong team who bring technological innovation and build products from the ground-up. We are a mix of farmers, engineers, and data scientists,” Gopalakrishnan says.

The target audience and marketing strategies

GramworkX primarily operates in the south (Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu) and west India (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh). Most of the traction has either been through online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook or WhatsApp, or through its networks with FPOs and agri institutes.

“In our on-ground study of over 160 small, medium and large farmers (land holdings from 1-50 acres), we observed that over 80 percent of them use smartphones and a large number of them rely on social media for agri-related information. Hence, using social media to promote our technology and its benefits is an important part of our marketing strategy,” he says.

GramworkX is in the process of running around five pilot programmes across India – primarily in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. The startup is also working with FPOs to provide customised solutions which can have a large-scale impact with multiple farmers.

The present and the future ahead

GramworkX is primarily bootstrapped and has raised funding through friends and family. The startup is looking for seed funding in the next six months.

Talking about the monetisation model, Gopalakrishnan says, “The IoT hardware for open field and polyhouse cultivation is provided on a fixed cost basis and a subscription model is also being experimented in select cases. We also have the SaaS platform for FPOs, and it is based on a subscription model. We provide the app for free to farmers. In addition, we also target direct customers through the leads generated through our free app, and online channels such as YouTube.”

There are a few other startups such as Fasal, Yuktix and CropIn in India; and The Yield and CropX operate internationally in this space.

“Our mantra lies in growing organically and to keep listening and interacting with the customers to build a solid foundation. We also believe in the development of both the hardware and software tools in India,” says Gopalakrishnan.

According to an EY August 2020 report, India ranks second after China, accounting for 11.9 percent of the global agriculture Gross Value Added (GVA) of $3,320.4 billion. The sector employs 43 percent of the total workforce.

“When we look at the entire agri market, around 167 lakh hectares (HA) in India are used for fruits and vegetable cultivation. GramworkX is focusing on a subset of horticultural crops which are water-sensitive and can highly benefit from such technology. The total addressable market that GramworkX would like to cover through these crops is 4.7 lakh HA, which would benefit around 50,000+ farmers,” he adds.

228 thoughts on “[RAISE 2020] How this Bengaluru-based startup is modernising agriculture through IoT and AI”

  7. Webmaster Center

    Took me time to understand all of the comments, but I seriously enjoyed the write-up. It proved being really helpful to me and Im positive to all of the commenters right here! Its constantly nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I am certain you had enjoyable writing this write-up.

    Reply
  12. Metale Pytania

    Slowa maja ogromna moc, Ja bardzo w to wierze. Moga inspirowac, dawac motywacje lub pocieszenie, a gdy go potrzeba. Czasem w jednym zdaniu jak zakleta jest madrosc, ktorej szukamy w zyciu przez bardzo dlugi czas. zapraszam do siebie 🙂

    Reply
  16. Socjologia Opis

    I guess you have made some really interesting points. Not too many ppl would really think about this the direction you just did. I am really impressed that there is so much about this subject that has been revealed and you made it so nicely, with so considerably class. Brilliant one, man! Truly great things right here.

    Reply
  25. Japonia Tokio

    Thank you for taking turns that excellent subject matter on your internet site. I came across it on the search engines. I will check back again whenever you post extra aricles.

    Reply
  28. Szkło Blog

    Anna Rokita Mawiala, ze Milosc,przyjazń I BRATERSTWO sa jak magia. Nie mozemy ich zobaczyc, ale czujemy je. I ja sie po czesci z tym zgadzam 🙂 A ty ?

    Reply
  38. Tematy o Szkle

    I must say, as very much as I enjoyed reading what you had to say, I couldnt help but lose interest after a while. Its as if you had a fantastic grasp to the subject matter, but you forgot to include your readers. Perhaps you should think about this from extra than 1 angle. Or maybe you shouldnt generalise so a lot. Its better if you think about what others may have to say instead of just heading for a gut reaction to the subject. Think about adjusting your personal thought process and giving others who may read this the benefit of the doubt.

    Reply
  60. HOT Links

    Youre so right. Im there with you. Your blog is unquestionably worth a read if anybody comes across it. Im lucky I did because now Ive acquired a whole new view of this. I didnt realise that this issue was so important and so universal. You surely put it in perspective for me.

    Reply
  64. GrvCrops

    [url=https://kloviagrli.com/]150 mg viagra[/url] [url=https://vigedon.com/]how long before sex do you take viagra[/url] [url=https://llecialisjaw.com/]eli lilly cialis coupon[/url] [url=https://jwcialislrt.com/]cialis pill[/url] [url=https://jecialisbn.com/]cheap cialis online[/url]

    Reply
  79. Nieruchomości Podatek

    How is it that just anybody can write a weblog and get as popular as this? Its not like youve said something incredibly impressive more like youve painted a pretty picture about an issue that you know nothing about! I dont want to sound mean, right here. But do you seriously think that you can get away with adding some pretty pictures and not seriously say anything?

    Reply
  87. Business directory

    Hi there, MegaCool blog mate, I really loved this page. I’ll be sure to talk about this to my cousin who would, odds are, love to check out this post too. Found this sites post through the Bing search engine by the way, incase you were curious. Many thanks for the wonderful read!

    Reply

  118. Pingback: tinder conversation tips

  157. wiertarki.xmc.pl

    I lately came across your blog and have been studying along. I believed I would leave my initial remark. I don???ê?èt know what to say except that I have relished reading. Pleasant blog. I will maintain visiting this blog extremely typically.

    Reply
  160. SuperGeo.XMC.pl

    That is really fascinating, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and stay up for in search of more of your magnificent post. Additionally, Ive shared your web site in my social networks!

    Reply
  161. Geodezja

    That is some pretty fascinating ideas, but Ive got a question for you. I have a WordPress site, however my design is rather boring. Yours looks genuinely great though and I am wondering if it is a premium theme? Im just contemplating acquiring one, but I genuinely like yours. Cheers!

    Reply
  163. Psychologia Koloru

    Good job here. I truly enjoyed what you had to say. Keep heading because you undoubtedly bring a new voice to this subject. Not many people would say what youve said and still make it interesting. Well, at least Im interested. Cant wait to see additional of this from you.

    Reply
  167. Globalizacja

    Boa noite turma, provavelmente disparar um torpedo web gratuito está cada vez mais difícil devido a restrição das operadoras de telefone. Há ainda serviços de terceiros (sites) que prometem entregar meu SMS mas quase nunca chegam ao usuário final. Alguns como o Mundo oi e o Oi Torpedo funcionam mas e para as outras operadoras? E os que prometem que enviam e nada chega. Para onde está indo as meus SMS? E para a Tim, Vivo? Alguma Idéia? Ou significa ter de desembolsar?. É só um desabafo, realmente está difícil achar bons sites para enviar SMS de graça.

    Reply
  168. Alkoholizm

    Hi – in actuality great site you have created. I enjoyed reading this posting. I did want to publish a remark to tell you that the design of this content is very aesthetically delightful. I used to be a graphic designer, now I am a copy editor. I have always enjoyed functioning with information processing systems and am trying to learn code in my free time.

    Reply
  169. Globalizacja.xmc.pl

    I want to thnx for the efforts you have put in composing this blog. I am hoping the same top-grade blog post from you in the future as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good model of it.

    Reply
  170. Alkoholizm

    Hello! I am going to marry my fiancee and we are looking for a good wedding photographer and wedding photographer. Could You propose a good wedding photographers? Thanks!

    Reply
  204. Ekonomia Notatki

    Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift. Have you considered promoting your blog? add it to SEO Directory right now 🙂

    Reply
  207. Analiza

    This is a different sort of opinion that many people dont usually talk about. Generally when I come across these sort of things I like to post them on Digg. This article probably wont do well with that crowd. Ill take a look around your site though and submit something else.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top