Earth and Habitat (Commonwealth Union) _ Krishi Mangal, a pioneering scale-up accelerator supported by Cisco India CSR and powered by Social Alpha, has successfully concluded its second edition, providing comprehensive support to seven innovative Agri-tech start-ups. These start-ups are dedicated to addressing challenges in agriculture and allied livelihoods, focusing on helping small and marginal farmers become more climate-resilient. Since its inception in 2021, Krishi Mangal has supported 12 start-ups, impacting over 40,000 small and marginal farmers and generating more than 1,000 jobs. The accelerator program offers a wide array of support, including grant funding, piloting opportunities, go-to-market assistance, fundraising guidance, technology refinement, and mentorship from experts.
Among the featured start-ups, Animeta Agritech offers a digitized animal healthcare platform, including a disease-diagnosing chatbot and a platform for ethnoveterinary products. The company has set up 10 clusters in Tamil Nadu, significantly increasing their sales. Capsber Global Agro focuses on improving crop yields and food security by leveraging the microbiome to decrease the carbon footprint and mitigate soil erosion. The program’s support has helped them increase product adaptability among farmers and establish six clusters in Karnataka.
Dharaksha Ecosolutions converts crop stubble waste into biodegradable packaging material using a biotechnology process. With the program’s backing, they have designed an automatic machine, scaling production capacity by ten times. Mivipro Products Private Limited developed Herboliv+, a bio-liquid made from botanical extracts that masks crop odors, making them unappetizing to wild animals. The program has helped Mivipro expand their customer reach in Uttar Pradesh and build B2B channels in three additional states.
Niyo Farm Tech designs small, user-friendly sprayers to reduce labor and improve yields. Over the last 12 months, they have scaled their model by exploring multiple sales channels, including dealership models and digital marketing. Proximal Soilsens created NutriSens, the world’s tiniest, repeatable, and user-friendly soil testing system. With support from the program, Soilsens has expanded operations in Maharashtra by building B2B partnerships and implementing a micro-entrepreneurship model. Urdhavam Environmental Technologies developed Borecharger, a patented borewell recharging technique. The program has supported them in building new markets and technology improvement, with trials in selected districts of Maharashtra.
The second edition of Krishi Mangal saw attendance from prominent figures like Ganesh Neelam, Nagaraj Subrahmanya, Vishal Aman, Yukti Gill, Rajesh Ranjan, Emmanuel Murray, and Harish Krishnan in Bangalore. Harish Krishnan highlighted the importance of improving farm productivity for national growth and Cisco’s commitment to supporting small and marginal farms with technology and innovation. He emphasized Krishi Mangal’s role in revolutionizing farming practices, making them more profitable and sustainable. Manoj Kumar, Founder of Social Alpha, stressed the severe impact of climate change on smallholder farmers and the necessity of innovations in climate adaptation to enhance their resilience.
Through Krishi Mangal 2.0, the accelerator aims to invest further in technology-led innovations, significantly improving the lives of marginal farmers and boosting agricultural productivity and climate resilience.
