{"id":5586,"date":"2025-05-13T09:32:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T09:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/?p=5586"},"modified":"2025-07-03T09:06:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T09:06:24","slug":"agri-tech-is-no-longer-optional-its-essential-says-leading-agribusiness-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/?p=5586","title":{"rendered":"Agri-Tech Is No Longer Optional  It\u2019s Essential Says Leading Agribusiness Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As Indian agriculture enters a new era driven by innovation and sustainability, the role of technology in farming is more critical than ever. According to <strong>Dr. Neha Deshmukh<\/strong>, an agribusiness strategist and former advisor to multiple agri-tech startups, the next agricultural revolution in India will be defined not by tractors and fertilizers, but by <strong>data, drones, and digital platforms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAgri-tech is no longer a luxury for progressive farmers; it is becoming a necessity for survival,\u201d says Dr. Deshmukh in an exclusive interview. With over 15 years of experience in agricultural policy and business development, she has worked closely with stakeholders from smallholder farmers to multinational agribusiness firms.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250703_1433_Essential-Agri-Tech-Revolution_simple_compose_01jz7rcx68ehbbya37zjvw42rw-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5686\" style=\"width:789px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250703_1433_Essential-Agri-Tech-Revolution_simple_compose_01jz7rcx68ehbbya37zjvw42rw-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250703_1433_Essential-Agri-Tech-Revolution_simple_compose_01jz7rcx68ehbbya37zjvw42rw-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250703_1433_Essential-Agri-Tech-Revolution_simple_compose_01jz7rcx68ehbbya37zjvw42rw-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250703_1433_Essential-Agri-Tech-Revolution_simple_compose_01jz7rcx68ehbbya37zjvw42rw.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcc8 <strong>The Shift in Mindset<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Deshmukh notes that the biggest challenge isn\u2019t access to technology\u2014but <strong>changing the mindset<\/strong> of the ecosystem. \u201cFarmers are often seen as reluctant to adopt new practices, but the truth is, they adopt quickly when the benefits are visible, affordable, and scalable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She points to the rapid growth of <strong>Kisan Call Centers<\/strong>, mobile-based weather alerts, and marketplace apps like DeHaat and AgroStar as examples of digital transformation already underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf3e <strong>Smallholder-Centric Innovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>India\u2019s agri-tech landscape must remain inclusive, Dr. Deshmukh emphasizes. \u201cOver 85% of Indian farmers are smallholders. Solutions must be <strong>low-cost, regional, and multilingual.<\/strong> An app in English with GPS tools won\u2019t help a farmer in Odisha who doesn\u2019t own a smartphone or speak Hindi.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She highlights the importance of <strong>community-based models<\/strong>, where local youth or agri-entrepreneurs serve as tech enablers, bridging the digital divide and creating employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udd1d <strong>Public-Private Synergy Is Key<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Deshmukh advocates for <strong>greater collaboration between the government, startups, and academic institutions<\/strong>. \u201cThere\u2019s innovation happening in silos. If startups align with government schemes like PM-KISAN, e-NAM, and FPO promotion, the impact will be exponential.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She also praises initiatives like the <strong>AgriStack project<\/strong>, but cautions against excluding farmers from the decision-making process. \u201cDigital infrastructure must empower farmers, not just extract data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd2e <strong>The Road Ahead: Climate and Markets<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With climate unpredictability and global market volatility on the rise, Dr. Deshmukh believes agri-tech will play a role beyond the farmgate. \u201cWhether it\u2019s <strong>predicting pest outbreaks through satellite imagery<\/strong> or <strong>tracking carbon credits<\/strong>, data is the future currency in agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She envisions a time when farmers are not just growers, but <strong>data providers, environmental stewards, and supply chain leaders<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Closing Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have a window of opportunity,\u201d she concludes. \u201cIf we invest wisely in scalable, farmer-first innovations, Indian agriculture can become both <strong>sustainable and globally competitive<\/strong>. But we need to act now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n    <div class=\"xs_social_share_widget xs_share_url after_content \t\tmain_content  wslu-style-1 wslu-share-box-shaped wslu-fill-colored wslu-none wslu-share-horizontal wslu-theme-font-no wslu-main_content\">\n\n\t\t\n        <ul>\n\t\t\t        <\/ul>\n    <\/div> \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Neha Deshmukh, agribusiness expert, shares how India\u2019s agri-tech ecosystem must evolve to be inclusive, data-driven, and farmer-first to ensure sustainable growth and resilience in farming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,67],"tags":[179,524,191,526,528,529,525,527,109],"class_list":["post-5586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-voices","category-interviews-opinions","tag-agri-tech-india","tag-agribusiness-expert-opinion","tag-digital-agriculture","tag-inclusive-innovation","tag-indian-farming-future","tag-industry-voices","tag-neha-deshmukh","tag-smallholder-technology","tag-sustainable-agriculture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5687,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5586\/revisions\/5687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriworldnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}