“Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan”- the slogan raised by Shastriji continues to hold relevance even today. Both, our soldiers and farmers, continue to remain the two strong shoulders on which the growth of our country is dependent. With over 58% of Indians directly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, the agri sector is one of the largest sources of livelihood for people across India, and holds tremendous potential for growth.

Technology has proved to be a boon for industries across the board, including agriculture. Agritech– the term to define the use of technology to improve agricultural yield and evolve farming practices, has picked up massive growth in the past decade.

Cattle farming has been integral to Indian farmers’ way of life since centuries. India has a 300 million + population of cattle (thrice that of China or US), which contributes to a thriving contribution of 23% of global milk production. With an annual growth rate of 18%, the dairy industry is expected to touch a market size $314 billion in 2023. However we need to improve our productivity further.

Agritech can significantly raise the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors in the economy by introducing innovative methods, and consequently open up an entirely new avenue for large-scale employment. As the industry continues to expand, it will create numerous high-quality job opportunities across a variety of fields ranging from research & development to sales & marketing.

In India, the Agritech sector has seen a flurry of activity in recent years. In 2022, Startups such as Apna Godaam, Moofarm, BharatAgri, and Aibono, are using technology to help farmers improve their productivity and increase their income by providing access to quality inputs, real-time market information and financial services.

The government is contributing its fair share of integrating technology into the agricultural sector by way of digitizing mandis through the eNAM portal, promoting the processed food sectors through dedicated food parks in SEZs, encouraging investment in Agritech companies using AI, ML, and other modern technologies through the National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A), and several other initiatives.

The number of startups has grown from 43 in 2013 to over 1,300 as at the end of 2022. The growth is phenomenal, and rough estimates predict that the sector will reach out to over 25 million farmers by 2027.

For instance, startup called Moofarm plans to generate employment for 7,000+ people across 1,000+ villages in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra. Moofarm is making headway in creating employment opportunities for unskilled workers (12th pass or under graduates) through the use of its technology platform-based model. It provides an opportunity for farmers who lack technical skills to make a living by selling their produce at market prices. Its production process is designed to equip even those workers without prior training with the skills they need to participate in the process, allowing them access to resources and guidance while also providing employment opportunities regardless of skill level.

Precision farming techniques such as yield mapping, automated weed control, and satellite imaging allow farmers to produce higher quantities of quality crops with less input. There are numerous opportunities for individuals with an interest in precision agriculture, including roles related to remote sensing, agronomy, and automation.

From data-driven farming to precision agriculture, the opportunities for creating meaningful jobs in Agritech are immense. The intersection of technology with agriculture is expected to create job opportunities for agronomists, crop doctors, hydrologists, food scientists, and village level entrepreneurs in the near future. This should also facilitate reverse migration of urban to rural however only possible if we increase the productivity significantly. There is also bound to be rise in demand for tech talent with knowledge of data analytics, IoT, chemical engineering, software development, data science, and agro-engineering. As the wise man said “If you eat today, thank a farmer”, now we should say ‘if you wish to earn in real india, think of farming’!

Pankaj Bansal is the Co-founder of Taggd and Work Universe (a Fund investing in jobs and work tech). He is a non-executive director at Karmayogi Bharat (Capacity building or Civil Servants) and many other startups.