TAD NewsDesk, New Delhi: A series of new startups are looking forward to digitizing dairy farming. They would work towards the improvement of milk quality and production.
Country Delight and Stellapps are two of the startups which are working through the technological indepth to contribute to the improvement of the supply chain of dairy in the country. They are using technological means to improve the production and distribution chain of milk.
These startups are looking to expand the value-added dairy offerings like cheese, butter, ghee leading to an increase in the productivity and income of farmers.
There is no organization in the dairy industry. According to data analysts, the Indian dairy industry comprises 300 million herds of cattle spread across 75 million dairy farmers.
And there are many issues that the private dairies and dairy cooperatives face:
- Sourcing milk
- Managing farmer payments
- Building traceable supply chains
- Ensuring quality
Mark Kahn, managing partner, Omnivore, spoke in the favour of startups including Stellapps and said,
“In the coming years, you should expect to see various dairy-focused agritech startups tackling these problems and building a stronger future for India’s dairy ecosystem.”
Bangalore based Stellaps startup used internet of things (IoT) to make the milk chain management system efficient holistically and it included the process of production, distribution and procurement of milk.
Ranjith Mukundan, co-founder and CEO, Stellapps said,
“There are 80 million households engaged in milk production of which about 60-70% are small and marginal farmers. Increasing the income of smallholder farmers which will lead to a better life for them has been a key agenda of the government and will play an important role in shaping the post-covid rural economy.”
Now the dairy startups are worried about the competition that seems to be increasing with time into the field.
Mr Khan of Omnivore said,
“The biggest challenges facing the dairy ecosystem are all rooted in scarcity—lack of labour, lack of green fodder availability, lack of high-quality cattle genetics. I think these trends will result in more farmers choosing to make dairying a full-time, increasingly professionalized activity, as opposed to a side hustle.”
Source: Mint
