KISAN Mitr: An initiative to support farmers Phase 1

The first phase focuses on creating a repository of agricultural technologies to catalyze modernization of farming and solve information asymmetry. The engagement stage of the platform independently helps young start-ups to showcase their agricultural technologies and easily engage with market demand. 

After the recent outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, reverse migration happened across the country, in which labours returned to their native villages. Through the KisanMitr digital platform, migrant youth can not only engage in farming but can also become agriculture-related entrepreneurs, helping their communities with modernization techniques. 

The KisanMitr platform receives a catalogue of technologies supplied by institutions such as IIT, IISER, CSIR, ICAR, MSME, start-ups, and reputed Universities specializing in agriculture (Punjab, Tamil Nadu). 

The demand is comprised of buyers from accelerators, agri-innovators, agri-incubators, industry, foundations, large FPO communities and Women Self Help Groups (SHG). A few examples are NABARD DDMs, TAFE, ITC, Coromandel, Tata Chemicals, Rallis, Nagarjuna, etc. 
Examples of a few technologies on the platform include soil & water conservation technologies, farm ecosystem machinery services, clean energy-related technologies, logistics or supply chain technologies, storage and processing techniques, Mandi dashboards with real-time data, Drones on hire, etc. 

The KisanMitr platform facilitates an engaging exchange between the supply and demand sides through chat, video meetings, rating system, and feedback forms. It also bridges the collaboration gap between the research institutes and the industry primarily via competitions in which difficult problems from the industry are posed as a challenge to the scientific community. 

To solve the cold start problem, NASSCOM and NIAM organize weekly webinars and convene both the sides to the platform. DD Kisan is considering televising the agricultural technologies in order to increase visibility and adoption of modern farming techniques and technologies across the country.