In conversation with Saurabh Agarwal, Founder, and Director of GROWiT India Pvt. Ltd.
- Why was GrowiT started, and what does it solve for farmers and agriculture in India?
GrowiT was established by Saurabh Agarwal in 2019 with a vision to help and support the rural farmers of the country. It is India’s first Direct-to-Farmer (D2F) protective farming agritech company. The company specializes in manufacturing high-quality and cost-effective protective farming materials and products for farmers. GrowiT ensures optimum quality and high yield for the Indian Agricultural & Farming Industry. The company has introduced an extensive range of protective farming techniques and innovative products to improve farm productivity and quality to increase farmers’ income. Currently, GrowiT is the only platform in the Indian market that is providing organized solutions in the protective farming space.
- How does the company acquire its customers? Mention the name of the states in which GrowiT is currently active?
GrowiT mainly caters to the rural farmers of India by providing them with critical solutions like quality crops, climate-smart agriculture, farmer empowerment, and raising farmer productivity. The company has established Grow Kshetras (Demo Farms) at every Taluka to educate and inform farmers about protective farming and other profitable farming practices. The firm is currently serving around 15000+ farmers through 117 franchise stores. Further, the platform looks forward to having 5000 franchise stores and serving around a million farmers by 2025. GrowiT is currently active in various states of the country that including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.
- How much shift has your platform made towards digitization and technology?
Recently, we have launched our application called “GROWiT App” which helps farmers in better understanding of protective farming practices and products. We will be making our App more and more interactive in the near future so that we create a community of Growitarians and we would like to see that community helping each other to adapt these products to double their farm output.
- How much revenue has the platform generated in FY21- FY22? What is the expected revenue growth for the company this year?
GrowiT has been growing exponentially since its inception. The company generates revenue through the sale of its protective farming products. The firm has a policy of ‘Buy Back of Mulch Films’. Here, we repurchase the used crop cycle mulch from the farmers. GrowiT has generated a revenue of INR 18 crores in FY 21 – 22. For this year, the platform is expecting to generate a revenue of around INR 50 crores.
- How can protective farming methods benefit the rural farmers of the country? How do you see this fit with eastern farmers/agriculture of India- West Bengal, Assam, etc.
Protective farming is a healthy farming method that assists in huge crop production without any adverse conditions. This technique requires various products such as Mulch Film, Shade Net, Crop/Fruit Covers, Plant Covers, Vermi Beds, Grow Bags, Crop Support Net, Fiber Stick, Plastic Clips, Insect Net, Weed Mat, Mulch Laying/Hole Punching Machines, Agri Threads, and Agri Wires. The primary focus of the company is to double the farm output of the country for all horticulture crops. The main product that we ask the farmers to start with is Mulch Film and then once they see the benefit they begin using other products as well. We are trying to create small SKU’s worth Rs. 500 to 700/- so that farmers are more adaptive to use these products. Bengal being one of the largest producers of Fruits and Vegetables, our products are a perfect fit for all the farmers in Bengal.
- Do you think agritech startups are critical for India’s future economy?
Yes, of course. I think agritech startups are crucial for India’s future economy. Agritech startups are offering innovative ideas and affordable solutions to a number of challenges faced all across the agriculture industry and eventually raising farmers’ income. These startups are implementing new and modern technologies in the agriculture sector to transform traditional agricultural practices and increase productivity and farm income. The increase in internet accessibility, smartphone penetration, and various government initiatives in rural areas have helped agritech platforms in supporting the farming community and add value to the economic growth of the country.
- What are the future plans of the company?
GrowiT is targeting to serve around 30,000 GrowiTtarians’ (names given to farmers who are associated with the company). We are trying to add 500 more franchise stores at the end of this year and looking ahead to project this figure to 2000 by 2030. Additionally, GrowiT is planning to shift its focus towards other crops like cotton, apart from horticulture crops. We are also working on many collaborations in the agritech domain to expand the company’s reach.