Innovations in agriculture hold the key to unlocking sustainable, inclusive growth potential while securing employment opportunities for young people. In India, this has given rise to a new generation of entrepreneurs and startups that have increased agricultural productivity and producer income. Key developments in Indian agriculture have been in areas such as digial innovations for pre and post-harvest management, efficient energy sources, biotechnology and the ‘uberization’ of farm mechanization. These innovations have opened up new avenues of engagement with the sector and created job opportunities for technology developers, entrepreneurs and agribusiness specialists. India’s success in launching these innovations in smallholder agriculture has potential for replication in other developing nations, including smallholder economies of Africa, through partnerships for cooperation and knowledge transfer.
This Policy Brief is based on the working paper: Ganguly K, Gulati J and von Braun J (2017). Innovations Spear-heading the Next Transformations in India’s Agriculture. Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation, Bonn and New Delhi: Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.