PTI | New Delhi
India must shift from fragmented agricultural innovation to systemic integration through state-level testing platforms and unified data frameworks to reach the vast majority of farmers still untouched by technology, according to an ASSOCHAM report released Tuesday.
The industry body said 86 per cent of farmers remain beyond the reach of most agri-tech innovations, calling for a fundamental redesign of how technologies are validated, commercialised and delivered to smallholders.
“India’s journey toward a future-ready agricultural system would be defined by how effectively it integrates technology with inclusion, data with decision-making, and innovation with impact,” the report stated.
The ASSOCHAM report recommended establishing state-level agri-tech sandboxes to serve as collaborative testbeds for piloting technologies under real-world conditions. The proposed sandboxes would bring together government agencies, startups, and research institutions to validate solutions before full-scale deployment.
Despite having over 90 ICAR institutes, 60 State Agricultural Universities, and 700-plus Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), India lacks a unified system to test emerging agri-technologies, the report noted.
Current mechanisms remain fragmented and slow, leaving innovations without clear validation pathways.
Each sandbox would be anchored within state agriculture departments, with participation from allied departments and partners including ICAR institutions, State Agricultural Universities, and NABARD.
A national steering committee co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and NITI Aayog would oversee governance and funding.
Agricultural data currently exists in silos – research trials with ICAR and SAUs, market data with state marketing boards, and farm-level data with private agri-tech startups, the report said.
This fragmentation limits development of cutting-edge innovations that depend on verified data.
ASSOCHAM called for establishing an Agricultural Data Commons built on FAO-recommended FAIR principles, making data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.
The report cited Telangana’s Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX), developed with the World Economic Forum, as a model for secure, standards-driven data sharing.
To achieve sustainable scale, agri-startups must transition from product-centric models to context-fit approaches aligned with farmer affordability and capability, the report said.
ASSOCHAM outlined differentiated business models based on technology complexity and cost – from direct-to-farmer retail approaches for low-cost solutions to collaborative ownership models for high-complexity, capital-intensive technologies.
The report recommended access-based services, community-led distribution, outcome-linked commercialization and innovative financing instruments like credit-linked adoption loans and crop-cycle-based repayments to mainstream technology adoption.
Policy focus should extend to innovative financing, last-mile infrastructure and capacity building, ASSOCHAM said. This includes expanding blended-finance mechanisms like the AgriSURE Fund, introducing tax incentives for agri-tech investments, and strengthening rural cold chains, storage and logistics networks.
The report also stressed the need to upskill farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations on digital literacy and AI-enabled advisory tools to translate technological advancements into on-ground adoption.
“By embracing new frontiers of agri-tech, India can transform agriculture into a digitally intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive ecosystem where innovation evolves into integration, and integration drives impact,” the report concluded.
