ImpactAlpha, April 19 – AgNext, based in Chandigarh in northern India, collects crop data, which customers use to make operational and sourcing decisions. Co-founder Taranjeet Singh Bhamra told ImpactAlpha that AgNext uses data in agriculture the way diagnostics and scanning is used in the medical field, for example to identify soil contamination, which has a significant impact on food safety and public health. Omnivore Capital invested an undisclosed amount in AgNext from its $46 million second fund.
- Cash crops… AgNext is building out it analytics platform in five crops, including tea, coffee and spices. It plans to expand to other cash crops in 18 to 24 months.
- Agriculture livelihoods… AgNext sees itself as a data company that has a direct impact on a sector that 2.5 billion people depend on worldwide to earn a living.
“The plantations [in India] are centuries-old businesses and a lot of livelihoods depend on them,” Bhamra says. “But most are on a negative [earnings] curve. They can’t sustain the [labor] costs and they’re not investing in technology. There’s a clear impact we’re making [by working with them.]” Omnivore’s last investment was in milk and grocery delivery company Doodhwalla.
