15 Dec 2022

A new era for India’s agritech sector


“This is why it is critical to utilise technology in all aspects of agriculture sector to increase efficiency and output. We’ve already seen incredible innovation happening across the space, but we expect pivotal advancements will come in the next decade as climate change and the impact of Covid-19 further and inadvertently highlight the importance of food safety, quality and supply.”

- Ashutosh Sharma, Head of India Investments, Prosus Ventures

Featured in: Times of India

By: Ashutosh Sharma

The agriculture sector contributes 6.4% of the world’s total economic production. The importance of agriculture in the Indian economy cannot be over-emphasised. An estimated 58% of India’s population is dependent on agriculture as the primary source of livelihood and agriculture contributes 17% to the national GDP. This is further supported by the sector’s continued resilience. When the manufacturing sector stuttered during the pandemic, the agricultural sector proved to be the most resilient – registering a growth of 3.6% in 2020-21, and then improving further to 3.9% during 2021-22. 

Given India is one of the most populous countries in the world and the UN recently projected it will become the most populous country sometime in 2023, it’s easy to understand the importance for agriculture to meet the growing demand for food. This is why it is critical to utilise technology in all aspects of agriculture sector to increase efficiency and output. We’ve already seen incredible innovation happening across the space, but we expect pivotal advancements will come in the next decade as climate change and the impact of Covid-19 further and inadvertently highlight the importance of food safety, quality and supply. 

See the full article in Times of India: https://timesofindia/prosusventures