By Anand Chandra, Co-founder & Executive Director, Arya.ag
“By placing agriculture and food processing as the second stream of Saptadhara, the government has underlined how central agriculture will be to the journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. The ‘farm to export market’ ambition is especially significant because it looks beyond production and towards the full value chain: how farmers produce, preserve, finance, process, and finally sell their produce.
For India’s smallholders and women farmers, this is where technology can make a meaningful difference. Precision farming, data-led advisory and more sustainable farming practices can improve what happens on the farm, while digital quality assessment, traceability, scientific storage, access to finance and stronger market linkages can help ensure that value is not lost after harvest. The opportunity is to connect all of these pieces so that better farming practices are also matched by better market outcomes.
Food processing will be equally important in helping farmers and FPOs capture more value from what they produce. As Indian agriculture gains access to larger domestic and global markets, scale will come from combining aggregation, quality assurance, and traceability with reliable demand and finance.
At Arya.ag, we see ourselves as the operating system connecting these different parts of the agricultural value chain: from the farmgate to finance to markets. The strength of Saptadhara is that it brings these priorities together. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2027, the focus must remain on making sure that the smallest producer can participate meaningfully in this growth and retain a greater share of the value created.”