Transforming agricultural spectrum through technology
While Sri Lanka saw the record breaking prices of vegetables last week, focus has shifted towards involving the general public by cultivating vegetables, fruits and various other crops in their own small plots of land through modern technology.
To attract the present generation of youth, it is the artificial intelligence enabled technologies, sophisticated computerised methods and drone technology that can play a key role in transforming the agricultural spectrum of Sri Lanka.
Last Thursday, Sarvodaya in partnership with Hatch launched the ‘GoviLab’ AgriTech Accelerator as part of Sri Lanka’s Inclusive Digital Agriculture Transformation (IDAT) strategy, a national initiative brought about by the collaborative efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with support from PwC India.
The accelerator aims to identify and prioritise key challenges within Sri Lanka's agriculture sector like ensuring food security and address them through the empowerment of smallholder farmers by cultivating a digitised agricultural ecosystem that contributes significantly to the IDAT project.
The project involves not only identifying and supporting startups with innovative solutions, but also working with various stakeholders, including other international development agencies, private sector and the government to scale the country's agri-technology and start-up ecosystem to support smallholder farmers. This creates sustainable and impactful changes that resonate throughout the agriculture value chain. The first phase of the programme will involve stakeholder consultations and focus group discussion to identify specific challenges faced by smallholder farmers and how these converge with government priorities.
The first cohort of the accelerator will select 10 start-ups through a competitive application process.
Over a six-month acceleration period, selected start-ups will undergo a comprehensive scaleup process, complemented by a capacity-building grant. This transformative programme seeks applications from start-ups that have developed and tested technological solutions, specifically aimed at bolstering Sri Lanka's agriculture industry.
State Minister for Technology, Kanaka Herath at the launch expressed, “Despite agriculture being the backbone of the economy and employing 30 per cent of the population, its GDP contribution is below 10 per cent. Inefficiencies like 40 per cent waste due to wildlife and transportation along with multiple handoffs inflate consumer prices four to five times that of the farm gate price.” Reducing waste and modernising the sector through technology is what is hoped to be achieved through the programme, this can significantly boost GDP, improve farmer income and lower consumer prices, he added.