Omnivore’s latest Impact Reports highlight progress in climate-smart agriculture in India

Omnivore announced on Dec 7 the publication of its FY2020-21 Impact Reports, highlighting the progress made by its portfolio companies in driving agricultural prosperity, transforming food systems, and promoting climate sustainability across India.

Since 2011, Omnivore has been funding entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems. Its investment portfolio features over 30 agritech start-ups, including DeHaat, Arya, Stellapps, Reshamandi, Bijak, AgNext, Intello Labs, GramCover, Aquaconnect, Animall, BharatAgri, DGV, Pixxel, and Fasal. These companies have impacted the lives of 6.4 million Indian farmers.   

Omnivore defines itself as a “financial first” impact investor, seeking to deliver market-rate venture capital returns, while impacting the lives of Indian smallholder farmers and rural communities.  It tracks the impact of its portfolio companies across four key themes: increasing farmer profitability, enhancing farmer resilience, improving agricultural sustainability, and catalyzing climate action. 

As per the FY2020-21 Impact Reports, the Omnivore portfolio companies have reached a total of 6.4 million Indian farmers. They have provided Indian farmers with access to financial services (credit disbursed and insurance coverage) of over Rs 8,000 crore. Besides, they have created economic value of over Rs 6,000 crore for Indian farmers by increasing their farm incomes and reducing their cost of cultivation

These companies have also contributed to protecting the environment. They have helped save 7.4 billion litres of water, reduce 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and shift 1.3 million hectares of farmland to sustainable cultivation.

On the eve of the launch, Mark Kahn, Managing Partner, Omnivore, said, "The pandemic revealed the resourcefulness of agritech start-ups in keeping smallholder farmers afloat and agricultural value chains functional. In the coming decade, the agritech sector will play a critical role in making farming more profitable, resilient, sustainable, and climate-proof."

Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner, Omnivore, observed, "Our portfolio companies have shown great perseverance in solving legacy issues in Indian agriculture and paving the way for a more climate-resilient future. The latter is especially necessary given India’s high degree of vulnerability to climate change. Our impact reports are a testimony to what impact venture capital can achieve. We remain focused on our goal of making agriculture a sustainable and profitable business for 130 million smallholder farmers of India.”

To support Omnivore’s impact focus, Sandeep Mukherjee was recently hired as VP - Impact & ESG. In this role, he will lead impact measurement and reporting processes, in addition to overseeing Omnivore's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and procedures.