From Corporate Buddies To Faarms Owner: 2 Friends From Punjab Made Lives Of 70,000+ Farmers Easy In Just 1 Year

Between 2013 and 2023, the agricultural technology (agtech) scenario in India saw significant growth, going from fewer than 50 startups to over 3,000. The demand for greater agricultural efficiency, growing internet accessibility in rural areas, and increased farmer awareness were the driving forces behind this expansion.

However, despite the digital advancements, Indian farmers still face basic challenges, like how to utilise their rights or how to use an app for farming assistance. They are technologically equipped but are still not well educated. Most of the farming community in India is not tech-savvy, many lack essential farming equipment, and a significant portion of farms are vulnerable to crop damage from pests and weather.

But as it’s said, every problem has a solution, and to upgrade the farming community, Alok Duggal and Taranbir have launched “FAARMS” for the farmer. It is a one-stop digital solution with multiple languages for easy understanding. It not only provides services to the farmers but also teaches them how to use their rights and resources mindfully.

EFaarms Solution Private Limited- Agritech Startup

Faarms Solution Private Limited is a Bangalore-based agritech startup founded in 2020. Faarms is a new-age digital agriplatform that caters to the needs of farmers. This platform provides a complete range of products and services, such as fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, animal feeds, etc, delivering them to the doorstep just like the way amazon does it for you and me.

In addition to e-commerce, it also offers a branch of knowledge-based platforms such as Faarms TV and Faarmoji. These platforms confirm that with the products, farmers also receive knowledge about their rights and best practices related to farming.

Faarms TV

We have all watched television in our homes and learned a lot about the world. In the same way, this agritech startup has also launched a knowledge exchange platform, Faarms TV. Which offers the best agricultural practices in video format to enhance the farmer’s knowledge and skills. All these videos are based on the guidance and expertise of agriscientists and progressive farmers. These videos are multilingual and cover a wide range of topics related to agricultural products and practices.

With knowledge, they also ensure that every farmer receives quality products at affordable prices at their doorstep on time. Not only products for plants and crops, but on this platform, farmers will also receive insurance for their accidentals, animals, Hospicash and group medication.

This platform also provides farmers with the space for your secure bill payments such as water, electricity etc from the Faarms App.

Meet the Faarms Founders

I believe that every startup comes with the idea of making things easy for society. Building the Faarms Agritech startup has made things much easier for those farmers who once faced social stigma due to the fewer sources and services. With the digitisation of India, the farmer community also deserves to receive the benefits of digitisation. Presently, Faarms is the fastest-growing agri-tech company in Bangalore.

To empower the farming community, Faarms was founded by corporatee buddies, Alok Duggal and Taranbir Singh in January 2020. Born and raised in Punjab, Alok Duggal saw the challenges faced by farmers and the gaps between the world of farmers and urban areas. Alok Duggal decided to build that bridge to cover that gap with this E-commerce platform. In this initiative, his biggest supporter was the co-founder of Faarms, Taranbir Singh.

They both hail from Punjab, a region well-known for producing India’s most popular agricultural staples, and their experience working in the rural banking divisions of some of India’s most prestigious banks shaped their backgrounds. In their roles, they were tasked with overseeing distribution in the rural ecosystem, affording them valuable insider insights and a deep understanding of how the system operates.

Taranbir, who graduated from the Punjab University of Amritsar, met Alok in 2006 at the bank head office in Banglore. Their bond was strengthened and by 2009, they made the business plan. Despite choosing different career paths, they both remained connected to their passion for starting a business together. Today, FAARMS is the result of their fifteen-year friendship and the trust and understanding they have for each other.

Investments and Faarms Funding

This agritech startup is a well-thought and well-established digital platform that grabbed the attention of many investors and that helped the faarms founder to expand their business globally. In 2021, this startup raised the funding of $2 million and was backed by angel investors. Koh Boon Hwee and Dr Cornelius Boersch led the investment round, which was supported by other investors. In 2022, the funding raising was increased to $10 million again led by the same angel investors.

The funds are utilised to increase Faarms’ geographical footprint in India, grow its supply and distribution channels, acquire more employees, and advance its technology infrastructure. It intends to provide a complete solution for rural households, including last-mile door-to-door delivery of farming inputs, as well as advising, insurance, and banking services.

EFaarms- The Future of Online Agriculture Marketplace

This agritech startup is the future of the online agriculture marketplace and is one of the most successful agriculture startups in India. With the vision of creating a global ecosystem for the farmer’s community and helping them to utilise the technology to receive benefits for their agriculture practice, Alok Duggal and Taranbir Singh have expanded the Faarms.

As per the sources and recent developments, this agritech startup has impacted the lives of 70,000 farmers and now this start-up is operating in 50,000 villages that are slowly increasing to 100,000 villages. For their insurance services, they have also tied up with the reliance on general insurance.

For their great and innovative initiative, the faarms founder, Taranbir Singh and Alok Duggal received the Times Business Awards in 2021- the most innovative digital platform for farmers.

We Mad4india loved this unique idea of FAARMS for the farmers and can truly say that “Mera desh Badal raha hai, age badh rha hai”, after all our farmers are receiving well-deserved services and products.

Frequently Asked Questions

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If you loved reading this blog over the advantages of organic farming, then do give a read to Mad4India’s Favorite 5 Organic Farming Startups In India That Will Make You Fall in Love with Green Living.

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