Krishi Network; 30 Lakh Farmers Benefit from IIT Duo's Timely Expert Crop Advice App

Ashish Mishra and Siddhant Bhomia, both IIT-Kharagpur alumni, founded Krishi Network. This platform aims to make vital information more accessible to farmers, allowing them to make more money.  

The platform, which is administered by their Delhi-based venture Cultino Agrotech Pvt Ltd and provides a combination of online and offline help, has also onboarded agri-brands, agri-input merchants, and other players in the agricultural supply chain. The Krishi Network app, which is presently accessible in Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, and English, is facilitating all of this work online. 

"We assist farmers by linking them to specialists and other agribusinesses outside of their immediate region, as well as providing them with knowledge and access to technology." Because Krishi Network is a whole technology-driven agri-supply chain, it also assists farmers in connecting with input brands, merchants, produce purchasers, and lenders, according to Ashish Mishra. 

30 lakh farmers are presently linked to the platform. It gives professional advice for "making crucial agriculture decisions via experienced and trustworthy farmers" in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The firm provides '15-minute solutions' to inquiries about any agricultural service, which is made possible by their platform's more than 8,000 specialists. 

The Makers 

Born in the little town of Shikohabad near Agra, Ashish grew up in a family where his father worked for the government and his mother ran the household. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer science engineering from IIT-Kharagpur in 2009 and went on to work for organisations like Shiksha.com, where he gained considerable expertise in software development. Following his time there, he worked at MyGola and Healthians in different marketing and product roles. 

Meanwhile, Siddharth, who was born and raised in Gwalior and graduated from IIT-Kharagpur in 2010, was born and nurtured in Gwalior. He spent nine years working in a variety of roles at companies such as Fractal Analytics, PwC India, and Innovaccer before founding Krishi Network in 2019. "When rural internet penetration began to take off in 2017, we saw a huge potential to motivate, educate, and allow farmers to modify their habits in order to boost revenue," says Ashish. 

Why Does Krishi Network Stand Out From The Rest? 

"We give immediate and precise answers to all types of agri-related technical queries a farmer could have, unlike other firms that fall under the area of input selling, output selling, or giving money." Our knowledgeable farmers actively participate on the site and assist other farms. "What sets us apart from other agritech start-ups is our expert-led guidance and 15-minute response time," Ashish continues. 

The app, the progressive farmers' list in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and other government websites are used to find experts. These are farmers that have performed "exceptionally well" in certain areas of agriculture and are now seeking to assist others. 

"By contributing to the platform, expert farmers get respect from the community. Krishi Network assists them in developing their brand and increasing revenue for their training or input companies. The app is where these specialists connect with the farmers the most. "We also want to deploy this platform in more languages in the near future," he says. 

Once a farmer has been onboarded, they go on a quest to earn points and badges by giving to the community. Experts are recognised based on their contributions and go through a distinct onboarding and activation procedure. 

"We collaborate with innovators and companies that want to expose their goods and services to the Krishi Network community on the business side." More than 30 brands have been onboarded for the Android app. Our advice has directly aided farmers in saving their crop and increasing their production. In general, our seed selection and plant protection initiatives help farmers increase their revenue by more than 15%. Due to the possibility to contact with farmers, our initiatives have helped to develop strong organic support from stakeholders. It also improves the entire agri-ecosystem and provides farmers with frictionless two-way communication," adds Ashish. 

Farmers' questions usually revolve around the types of pesticides to use, the types of crops that may be planted, and so on. Farmers may also look for answers to queries they've already asked. If they have a new question, they may ask it straight to the professionals on the site. 

While Krishi Network has received funds, they have remained tight-lipped about the amount. “Few key angels that have invested in our company include Sanjiv Rangrass (ITC), Sunil Khairnar (Indigram labs), Venkat Tadanki (Anvaya ventures), Rushank Vora (ICICI ventures), Aneesh Reddy (Capillary), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Suraj Saharan (Delhivery), Rohit Razdan (ClearTax), and Kanav Hasija (Innovaccer), amongst others,” he adds. 

Krishi Network also engaged Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi as a brand ambassador earlier this year. According to reports in other outlets, he has also supported the site for an unknown sum of money.