Bengaluru
Samunnati, a specialized agri value chain enabler, has announced its partnership with the Hyderabad-based agritech startup Kheyti to deliver “Kheyti Rakshak” to over 1 lakh farmers in the next 4-5 years.
“Kheyti Rakshak” is a Greenhouse-in-a-Box, affordable, modular solution bundled with full-stack services.
As part of this partnership, Kheyti is rolling out the first 100 kits to farmers across Telangana and Karnataka.
Under this partnership, potentially $150 million (approx. Rs 1000 crores) will be deployed by Samunnati to make this model reach 1 lakh smallholders. This will significantly enhance the income levels of over 1 lakh farmer families.
Kheyti, founded in 2015, designs and distributes affordable greenhouses. The company focuses on the research and design of greenhouses as well as on the selection of crops to be grown. They also provide advisory services and supply inputs to farmers.
The startup helps smallholder farmers battle climate change through the Greenhouse-in-a-Box, a low-cost greenhouse bundled with end-to-end services. It developed the world’s cheapest greenhouse to grow quality vegetables even in off-seasons. The company provides greenhouses with digital services to help farmers double their farm incomes.
In line with the company’s vision to accelerate agritech momentum across the country, Samunnati will offer farmers loans to purchase the “Kheyti Rakshak”, which will help scale the solution to over 1 lakh farmers in the country. According to the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), 2013, agriculture, forestry and the change of land use account for as much as 25 per cent of the human-induced greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions globally.
Recognizing the significance of Climate Smart Agriculture as the need of the hour, Samunnati has collaborated with Kheyti to deliver “Kheyti Rakshak” to farmers at Rs. 1 lakh, which is 80 per cent less expensive compared to other alternatives in the market. Designed for smallholders, “Kheyti Rakshak” fits in 2 per cent of their land, costs 90 per cent lower than regular greenhouses, protects crops from environmental risks and grows 7 times more food with 50 times water efficiency.
Commenting on the partnership, Anilkumar SG, CEO and Founder at Samunnati, said, “Digitalization is changing the face of the Indian agriculture ecosystem and as the country prepares for Agri 4.0, promoting sustainable agricultural practices which can minimize impact on the environment and maximize gains to the farmers will be crucial. At Samunnati, we have always believed in collaborating with the industry to help the agri ecosystem operate at a higher equilibrium. We are excited about our collaboration with Kheyti and together we look forward to bringing the benefits of innovative agri solutions to the smallholder farmers across India.”
The key benefits that “Kheyti Rakshak” offers include: (i) farmers can save up to 90 per cent of water consumption; (ii) they can produce up to 7 times more crop yield; (iii) improved quality of produce; (iv) farmers will require only 400 sq m of land to earn up to INR 70,000 annually; and (v) it will help women farmers own farm assets.
Sathya Raghu, Co-founder and President, Kheyti, said, “Kheyti developed ‘Kheyti Rakshak’ to increase incomes of the ultra-poor women farmers in the country, in a market-based model. We are making vegetable farming predictable and profitable. We innovated a fantastic greenhouse. We stabilized our crop practices with a portfolio of the vegetables consumed in India like Tomatoes, Onion, Cabbage, Carrots, Okra and the like. Our digital advisory ensures ongoing support in growing and selling. By collaborating with Samunnati, we unlocked capital to reach 100,000 farmers. Now, we intend to partner with relevant farmer-focused organizations across India and the world to grow at 4x to 5x every year and reach 100,000 farmers by 2025. Also, we wish to be the go-to place for the smartest people who want to solve the toughest problems in Indian agriculture.”
Samunnati’s growth-oriented approach, known as AMLA (Aggregation, Market Linkages and Advisory services) empowers the agricultural community by helping them build better market linkages and using relevant technology and skills for growth. Headquartered in Chennai, Samunnati has its presence in more than 100 agri value chains (including the pilot) spread over 21 states in India.