From land preparation to harvest, KhetiGuru aims to empower farmers at different stages of the harvest cycle
From land preparation to harvest, KhetiGuru aims to empower farmers at different stages of the harvest cycle
At a time when smallholder farmers are being plagued by rising farm input costs and fuel prices, two agricultural entrepreneurs, both sons of western Maharashtra farmers, have developed a free knowledge-based advisory platform aimed at increasing agricultural output while maintaining soil health to get at the same time.
Pravin Shinde and Vishnu Dhas, co-founders and directors of the KhetiGuru platform, aim to equip small farmers with the right knowledge and technology – from land preparation to harvesting – to boost crop production.
The platform, which launched earlier this month, focuses on crop nutrition and is intended as a “preventive” rather than a “curative” resource, fending off crop damage from pests and diseases to help the farmer achieve higher yields.
“KhetiGuru has an expert team of 50 agronomists to provide seamless advisory services. They will assist farmers in need from preparing the soil to the different stages of the crop life cycle, be it sowing, flowering, fruiting or harvesting, as well as recommending various unique products developed by KhetiGuru,” says Mr. Shinde, the hails from a peasant family in Satara district.
Because KhetiGuru focuses on plant nutrition and health, the use of chemical-based pesticides is reduced to improve soil health.
From ‘KhetiGaadi’ to ‘KhetiGuru’
The idea for this platform did not come out of the blue: in 2016 the duo had launched “KhetiGaadi” – an agricultural version of OLX – creating an online ecosystem for agricultural mechanization in India for the first time.
The platform that offers farmers various product options with detailed specifications for buying, selling and renting farm equipment is changing the face of agricultural mechanization in India. It has already registered a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹1,200 crore in 2019 in 2021-22.
“The tremendous response to the KhetiGaadi initiative, currently being used by over 50 lakh farmers across India and addressing the challenges faced by India’s slow rate of agricultural mechanization, prompted us to think seriously about the issues involved with crop damage to think about,” he says Mr. Shinde.
According to Mr Dhas, KhetiGuru, like KhetiGaadi, aims to “fundamentally disrupt the agricultural service sector”.
“While the industry is currently focused on providing post-disease damage solutions, we want to stay ahead of the curve by focusing on the prevention of crop damage, whether it be from pests or diseases. KhetiGuru will be offering free advisory services by qualified agronomists at a time when the agribusiness is paying farmers anywhere between Rs. 1,200 and Rs. 4,000 a year,” says Mr Dhas, whose parents worked on farms.
To address the farmers’ problems, KhetiGuru offers specific kits for different stages of the harvesting cycle, such as Kit among other products.
“With KhetiGuru, we intend to offer farmers a full service, from soil preparation, through sowing and vegetation, to the pre-harvest and harvesting phase, with the aim of maximizing their crop production by focusing on preventive care. Farmers can also benefit from specially designed kits for specific crops, including bananas, sugarcane, rice, soybeans, onions and tur,” Mr Shinde said.
As in the case of KhetiGaadi, during their interactions with farmers over the past few years, the duo had concluded that the lack of appropriate technology, know-how and awareness were the main reasons for impeding maximum crop yield, particularly in the case of smaller farmers that are exposed to environmental fluctuations.
“After working closely with farmers, we are finding that soil health is deteriorating due to chemical abuse from fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. Add to this the rising cost of farm inputs and most importantly, farmers are not receiving the right guidance and advice on various aspects of the harvest cycle, hence the end result is disappointing,” says Mr Dhas.
A catchphrase of the KhetiGuru platform is to dissuade the farmer from the indiscriminate use of pesticides to help maintain soil health.
“To this end, we have developed 62 plant nutrition and plant strengthening products that have so far been successfully piloted by 1,000 farmers. The growing and blooming products are built on nanotechnology and are available in 1g packs for a hectare harvest,” says Mr. Dhas.
In addition, farmers can have needed tools, seeds, fertilizers and crop protection food products delivered to their homes via the KhetiGuru app. The app is available in the Play Store.
