In my last article, I wrote about the various Agri Start-ups in India. It has to be mentioned that many of the existing start-ups, although tasting early success, are facing difficulties to expand their businesses. There are various problems that are being faced by these start-ups. I will cover them in two parts.

Here is a look at some of them:

Rigid Old Models

One of the major reasons for rejection of funding for agri start-ups have been the business models. The existing systems are too rigid that it is difficult to break and scale the new business models.  There is a presumption that agriculture cannot have a viable business model and when the business models do not meet the expectations, the investors shy away.

Lack of commercial guidance

When it comes to expansion of agri start-ups, what is needed is good commercial guidance. In fact this guidance is what aids them in networking, finding resources and gaining expertise, however, it is still not available in agricultural start-ups.

Incubators’ competence

Start-up Incubators do not have the expertise and competence to guide these Farm Oriented Start-ups. Their focus is chiefly on IT, health etc. This proves to be a problem for the ones who want to succeed.

Investor apathy

Considering that the sector is filled with a lot of uncertainties, there is a lot of investor apathy when it comes to agri start-ups.

Lack of Subject matter Experts/ Mentors

One of the chief problems faced is that not many mentors are available in this space. The experienced ones who are available are not entrepreneurs and the ones you know have no idea about this space. There is also a need for education support for the next generation in the field.

Application of technology

When it comes to agri tech, there is also the issues faced by the end users. There is very little technology adoption here.

Urban investors lack of understanding

Investors mainly have urban backgrounds. These are people who mainly know to cater to urban demands. The problems and solutions of these start-ups may not be easily understood by these backers.

There are many more problems that are being faced by agri start-ups, I will cover them in my next article. Do comment/write to me to add your perspective.