Arya.ag, India’s largest grain commerce platform, is transforming the agricultural landscape by seamlessly connecting sellers and buyers. It ensures unmatched reliability in quantity, quality, and timely payments. Serving a diverse clientele—farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), financial institutions, SME agri-processors, commodity traders, and corporate agribusinesses—the platform is redefining how agricultural produce is traded.
With an extensive network of over 11,000 commodity storage points across the country, Arya.ag guarantees a steady year-round supply for SME and corporate buyers. This reliability is further strengthened by integrated financing solutions, offering essential support to the agricultural value chain.
At its heart, Arya.ag tackles two of the most pressing issues faced by Indian farmers: choosing the right time to sell and finding dependable buyers. By eliminating distress sales and boosting farmers’ income by 20–30%, the platform delivers solutions that span three vital areas.
First, its near-farm storage facilities enable farmers to store their produce post-harvest, allowing them to benefit from price appreciation during the off-season. Second, it offers credit against stored commodities, ensuring farmers and other clients have uninterrupted working capital. Third, Arya.ag facilitates transparent commerce linkages, providing assured payments while resolving buyers’ working capital challenges.
Through its comprehensive approach, Arya.ag is reshaping grain commerce in India, empowering farmers, and building financial resilience across the agricultural ecosystem.
In an exclusive conversation with The Interview World, Anand Chandra, Executive Director of Arya.ag, delves into the company’s groundbreaking initiatives. He explains how Arya.ag addresses farmers’ unique challenges, supports them in achieving climate resilience, and ensures seamless loan disbursal and recovery. Chandra also shares remarkable insights into the growing number of farmers benefiting from Arya.ag’s innovative solutions.
Q: What are the key solutions Arya.ag provides to empower the farming community, and how do these address their specific challenges?
A: We aim to solve two critical challenges farmers face after harvest: deciding when to sell and determining whom to sell to. These fundamental questions often leave farmers without control or options. Our mission is to give them complete freedom in making these decisions.
To address the when, we provide storage facilities near farm gates. This proximity allows farmers to store their produce securely, enabling them to sell at a time that maximizes their returns. However, storage alone is not enough. Farmers need immediate access to funds to meet essential expenses, including household needs, input costs for the next season, and more. To bridge this gap, we offer financing solutions against their stored commodities as collateral. Importantly, we do this without requiring additional collateral, making it accessible and farmer-friendly.
In this space, we compete directly with local moneylenders who often charge exorbitant interest rates. Our technology-driven approach has transformed this process. Once a farmer stocks their produce in our warehouse, we can disburse a loan in under 10 minutes. By the time they return home, the funds are already in their account. This level of speed and efficiency ensures farmers have the liquidity to decide when to sell.
To tackle the challenge of whom to sell to, we offer farmers access to a broad network of buyers through our platform. Instead of relying solely on local traders, they can now connect directly with processors, end consumers, and other buyers, ensuring competitive prices and better market opportunities.
By providing both storage and access to diverse buyers, we empower farmers to take control of their produce and their profits. This is how we are redefining the post-harvest experience, giving farmers the tools and freedom to make the best decisions for themselves and their livelihoods.
Q: How does Arya.ag support farmers in building resilience to climate challenges and adapting to sustainable agricultural practices?
A: Once we address the fundamental challenges, we collaborate with various agencies, including buyers, to support farmers in transitioning to direct-seed rice cultivation. In addition, we have introduced hermetic storage structures—compact, flexible storage units designed to be used directly on the farm. These structures eliminate the need to transport produce to the market (mandi), offering farmers a more efficient and cost-effective solution.
Crucially, these storage units do not require chemicals or sprays, significantly reducing the use of harmful pesticides. This not only conserves water but also cuts down on the need for chemical interventions, promoting a more sustainable approach to agriculture.
These initiatives are part of our broader commitment to climate resilience, helping farmers adopt more eco-friendly practices while improving their productivity and long-term sustainability.
Q: What strategies and mechanisms do you employ to ensure loan recovery from farmers, especially given the collateral-free nature of the lending?
A: The core idea behind this loan is to shift focus from evaluating a customer’s creditworthiness to assessing the commodity itself. My expertise lies in thoroughly evaluating the commodity. I ensure accurate valuation, and based on the quality of the produce, I offer loans ranging from 65% to 80%. My strength lies in commodity assessment. In India’s agricultural ecosystem, we are aware that farmers often lack sufficient creditworthiness, and numerous challenges exist. Rather than focusing on these credit issues, we prioritize the commodity as the key determinant.
Q: Are you leveraging automation to integrate loan repayment with the sale of commodities seamlessly?
A: Our platform addresses a critical challenge farmers face: securing funds to repay their loans. To bridge this gap, we provide them with the necessary finance. By embedding the entire financing process within the deal size, we enable farmers to earn slightly more from the transaction, ensuring they are better equipped to meet their financial obligations.
Q: How many farmers currently benefit from using your platform, and what impact has it created in their agricultural journey?
A: We collaborate with nearly 850 FPOs, through which we connect with farmers. One of our key initiatives is digitizing farmers’ farmlands to enhance their productivity. This effort has already impacted around six lakh farmers, enabling them to produce more efficiently.
