Sujit is amongst a rare breed of analytical writers with an unparalleled command of three critical components—the food chain, agricultural technology and economics. The book is an easy-to-read narrative with anecdotes and international best practices combined with a deep dive into the psyche of rural India and a farm-to-fork agritech strategy. Undisputedly, India is on the cusp of an agricultural revolution, so this is a compelling read for anyone interested in the future of India.
A Wall Street View of Rural India established Sujit Sahgal as a researcher with his eye on the hoi polloi. The two newbies of 21st century agriculture—youth and agritech, introduced in this book’s last section—find robust wings in the author’s succeeding book, Agribusiness and Technology. The role of these two actors in reshaping agriculture as an agribusiness is well substantiated. The well-tested ‘Sahgal methodology’ of integrating secondary with primary data helps in generating a froth of ground-truth insights.
While the problems facing Indian agriculture are well documented and understood, Sujit Sahgal brings a refreshing ‘onthe-ground and on-the-farm’ perspective to them by going to the grassroots and taking inputs from farmers across the country to understand what will work for them and what will not. This approach makes this book differentiated as it touches upon a very large number of issues, from global experiences to the local landscape, and brings out new and actionable ideas on the use of agritech and best practices for farmers.
Technology is now all pervasive, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes an integral part of India’s farming, even in those areas of agriculture in which there is not enough use of technology at present. Mr Sujit Sahgal’s book is relevant to the future of Indian agriculture as it examines the pathways to the options available to make it viable for small farmers also. Anyone interested in the future of Indian agriculture will find this book interesting and relevant.
The issue of small farmers’ livelihoods in India is challenging both in policy and practice. This concise and empirical book examines the appropriate role of technology in enabling India’s small farmers to earn a decent livelihood. Sujit is convincing in his argument that farm size is not an issue in the viability of farming. The book dwells on major issues ranging from land leasing to extension, sustainability, producer organization and inclusion.
Sujit Sahgal’s new book is a wonderful overview of the challenges facing farmers in India and how technology adoption can help transform Indian agriculture and food systems. Omnivore helped pioneer agritech investing in India over the past decade, and we are thrilled to see Sujit’s insights regarding the potential of this sector. If you care about India’s 13 crore farmers, read this book!
It’s rare to find an investment banker possessing a granular understanding of agriculture and also a passion for the sector. Sujit Sahgal has both. Agribusiness and Technology offers a grounded view of the challenges facing Indian agriculture—how to produce more with less input as well as environmental costs amid rising weather uncertainty. It also shows how new digital agriculture technologies can provide solutions by reducing drudgery and attracting our rural youth to stay back and scale up their family farm businesses.