Scaling Agritech at the Last Mile: Converging Efforts for Farmers’ Prosperity

Project Saagu Baagu is a PPP initiative in Telangana, India, designed to scale agritech services for smallholder farmers, specifically focusing on the chilli value chain in its first phase. The project integrates AI-based advisories, soil and quality testing, and e-commerce to increase farmer income and climate resilience. By March 2023, the project reached over 17,000 farmers, with some realizing an average sales increase of Rs 1,870 per 100kg. The initiative aims to scale to 100,000 farmers by 2025 and establish India's first agricultural data exchange and sandbox.

• Project Saagu Baagu's first phase focused on the chilli value chain in the Khammam district of Telangana, impacting more than 17,000 farmers through a combination of advisory services, quality testing, and market connectivity.
• The use of e-commerce platforms and transparent pricing enabled farmers to earn an average of Rs 1,870 per 100kg ($22.86/100kg) more in sales compared to traditional channels, primarily by reducing costs related to commissions, packaging, and transportation.
• The project deployed specific agritech tools to address systemic gaps: an AI-based WhatsApp chatbot for customized advisories, AI-based soil testing providing results in 20 minutes (down from 20-25 days), and AI- and stereoscopy-based quality testing to replace subjective visual inspections.
• The initiative utilizes a PPP framework where the government provides 'data enablement', support for on-ground operations via community resources, and the creation of a 'sandbox' for technology validation to reduce the risks and costs for private agritech start-ups.
• The project aims to scale to at least 100,000 farmers in Telangana by 2025, expanding to other districts and priority crops including cotton, turmeric, groundnut, Bengal gram, and paddy.
• Future phases of the project include the development of India's first agricultural data exchange and an agricultural sandbox to facilitate a two-way flow of data between the government and private sector and to validate emerging technologies.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Scaling Agritech at the Last Mile: Converging Efforts for Farmers’ Prosperity. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Agritech_at_the_Last_Mile_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Scaling Agritech at the Last Mile: Converging Efforts for Farmers’ Prosperity. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Agritech_at_the_Last_Mile_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Scaling Agritech at the Last Mile: Converging Efforts for Farmers’ Prosperity |date=June 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Agritech_at_the_Last_Mile_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023scaling, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Scaling Agritech at the Last Mile: Converging Efforts for Farmers’ Prosperity}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Scaling_Agritech_at_the_Last_Mile_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }