Yesterday, India-based AI and blockchain firm Agri10x announced a partnership with the government to help farmers access its online marketplace, a Business Standard report said. Agri10x will now be able to access the government’s common service centers (CSCs), access points that deliver e-services to rural and remote areas in the country with the aim of digital inclusion.
Leveragingthe CSCs, Agri10x will onboard farmers on its platform. Agri10x hasdeveloped a blockchain-based marketplace that connects farmers andglobal traders, reducing the dependence on middlemen. The solutionwill also help farmers earn a fair price for their produce.
Indiahas a substantial agrarian economy, which contributes about 16% tothe GDP. A large number of people are highly dependent onagriculture, with morethan two thirdsof the country’s population residing in rural areas.
“TheIndian farmers have been the unsung heroes of the Indian economy andwe wanted to ensure that they get an easy access to a globalmarketplace to sell their produce directly, without any middlemen,”said Pankajj Ghode, CEO of Agri10x.
“Ouraim is to ‘Connect Local Farmers with Global Buyers’ that wouldnot only increase their income levels but will also massively boostemployment in the agriculture industry,”
Establishedin 2016, the company has onboarded farmers from the state ofMaharashtra. Now it aims to expand operations to the rest of thecountry and onboard threemillionfarmers by the end of this year. The startup previouslysaid onboardingfarmers was the biggest hurdle for the adoption of its platform.
Agri10xhas a number of products — a trading platform for connecting buyersand sellers, a mobile app, smart card to make transactions, offlineand online grocery store, and another digital-only grocery store.Blockchain and AI underpin the trading platform, but it was not clearif the technologies are used for other services.
Thereis another agri marketplace in India which has similar goals,called FarmFirst.Developed by Freshstack Technologies, the marketplace recentlyadopted dltledgers blockchainfor end-to-end digital trading.
