May 31, 2021
Ensuring the procurement and supply of milk in a contactless manner has been one of the key advantages of using technology.
Stellapps SmartMoo has so far aided around 35,000 Indian villages and 3 million dairy farmers and 200 dairy processors across them.
AgNext Technologies has enabled the testing of the milk’s quality at collection centres sans any hindrances caused by the lockdown.
The rating agency Crisil predicts that India’s organized dairy sector’s revenue will experience a 5-6% annual growth to 20.5 bn in the current fiscal.
India’s tech-based start-ups have come to the aid of the dairy industry at a time of intense disruptions caused by the pandemic. As per a report in the Economic Times , these entrepreneurs have helped dairy farmers and processors by substituting for the reduced workforce and facilitating procurement and supply of milk in a contactless manner.
One such start-up is the Bengaluru-based Stellaps SmartMoo which was set up in 2011, is an IoT platform which digitizes and optimizes the production, procurement of milk along with cold chain management leading to a maximization of profits with minimal effort. The platform also assists the grading, pricing and payments to farmers in a contactless manner amidst the lockdown. The platform has enabled the smooth sale of milk and digital payments along with hassle-free credit to farmers despite tough market situations, ensuring their triumph over the economic distress brought by the pandemic. So far, the company has successfully digitized 35,000 villages, aiding around 3 million dairy farmers and more than 200 dairy processors across India.
Another such company is the Mohali-based AgNext Technologies which has been instrumental in helping farmers tackle the shortage of staff through easy digitized solutions which ensured the quality testing at milk collection centres without any hindrances during the lockdown, as revealed by CEO Taranjeet Singh Bhamra. Agribusinesses that are using the technology, also find it easy to track their products enroute to procurement and supply.
According to the rating agency Crisil, a healthy revival of demand in value added products (VAP), reduced restrictions in comparison to the first wave of the pandemic, along with steady demand for liquid milk will support the overall growth of the sector in the current fiscal. The agency also mentioned that although the procurement prices for milk are expected to go up with the increasing demand, the higher sales of VAP will show a greater impact on profitability. Additionally, with a decline in the skimmed milk powder inventory in comparison to the peak witnessed last year, working capital borrowings will be eased, it said. Crisil has estimated that the revenue of India’s organized dairy sector will experience a 5-6% annual growth to 20.5 bn after a fall to 1% during the previous fiscal.