Funding to Support Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Reduce Food Loss in India

New Delhi/Zurich - 18 July 2024 - Arya.ag, one of India's largest agritech startups, has secured USD 8 million in debt funding on behalf of investors from responsAbility, a leading impact asset manager based in Switzerland. The funding will support Arya.ag's mission to transform India's agricultural landscape by empowering farmers, promoting climate-resilient practices, and reducing food loss.

Arya.ag is currently active in 24 climate-stressed districts across India, providing resilience to vulnerable communities in the agricultural ecosystem. In the previous fiscal year, Arya.ag handled 7 million metric tones (MT) of agricultural commodities through its network of over 11,000 storage locations, reaching farm-gate level markets across the country. This robust infrastructure prevented half a million MT of food loss and enabled nearly one million smallholder farmers to choose when and to whom they sell their produce.

Arya.ag serves as a bridge between smallholder farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and a diverse network of processors and buyers. It also facilitates transactions with market leaders who prioritize produce cultivated through climate-resilient methods (Climate Champions) to empower farmers and encourage sustainable models.

Empowering farmers and reducing food loss

Anand Chandra, co-founder and COO of Arya.ag, said, "This investment from responsAbility Investments is a significant boost for Arya.ag. It will allow us to reach more farmers and farming communities, particularly those in areas hit hardest by climate change. By connecting farmers to markets at scale we ensure farmers receive fair prices for their harvests and have the resources they need to thrive. This partnership demonstrates our shared commitment to a more sustainable and equitable future for agriculture in India."

Strengthening long-term collaboration

Neha Baid, Team Head of Sustainable Food Debt APAC at responsAbility, said, "This investment is one of many collaborations between responsAbility and Arya.ag. responsAbility supported Arya.ag’s growth and mission to improve climate resilience and reduce food loss and waste through multiple debt investments and technical assistance over the years. With this latest investment in the context of our climate-smart agriculture strategy, we are deepening our impact with Arya."

Technical assistance to smallholder farmers

In addition, responsAbility recently provided technical assistance to Arya.ag to build the capacity of smallholder farmers. This will enable them to use the Arya.ag application, which provides easy access to storage facilities and digital finance for their stored produce. The goal is to reduce food loss and waste and increase smallholder farmers’ incomes, thereby improving their climate resilience.

Empowering farmers to plan their sales

This strategic funding will further Arya.ag's mission to empower farmers to plan their sales, thereby increase farmer incomes through its innovative platform that addresses storage, finance and commerce solutions.It empowers farmers and their organizations to choose when and to whom they sell their produce post-harvest by providing access to farm-level storage, seamless finance, and transparent commerce.