Pune: Bayer’s- a German company for agro-input has tied up with AgroStar, a Pune based e-commerce firm in the agricultural segment. Under the partnership, the farmers can order Bayer’s seeds and crop protection products for their entire crop lifecycle and receive agronomic advisory through AgroStar’s digital agri-tech platform. Home delivery of agri-inputs can currently be availed by farmers in North, West and Central India, with plans to extend the scope to other geographies in the future.
In the current COVID-19 lockdown situation, the partnership has enabled last-mile delivery of Bayer’s seeds and crop protection products for multiple crops directly to farmer’s doorsteps. With agri-input shops remaining partly shut, AgroStar is fulfilling farmers’ orders through its 500+ strong network of last-mile delivery partners, who are doing doorstep delivery of agri-inputs, while following hygiene and social distancing norms prescribed by the government. More than 15,000 farmers have benefitted from this service from the comfort of their homes and have avoided stepping out to buy agri-inputs ahead of the Kharif season.
“We are happy to partner with AgroStar and serve farmers during the current difficult situation and even beyond. The Go-to-Market approaches in the Indian agri-input industry have been static over the last five decades. With the rise of digitalization, the industry will witness very dynamic shifts over the next few years. With the increasing incidence of online e-commerce platforms, the trend is fast catching up in the agricultural space and is here to stay,” said Simon Wiebusch, Chief Operating Officer for Bayer India’s Crop Science Division.
“We are excited to partner with Bayer to make their wide range of seeds and crop protection products available at farmers’ doorsteps across the country. Good quality agri-inputs, coupled with our digital agronomy solutions, have the potential to significantly increase farm productivity and farmer incomes across the country,” said Shardul Sheth, CEO and Co-Founder of AgroStar.