Driving Innovation in Indian Agriculture: AEGF and Mastercard's Collaborative Efforts
Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation (AEGF) and Mastercard have partnered to launch Bharat Kisan Manch, a digital platform aimed at providing millions of Indian farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs with access to markets and formal financial services. The platform utilizes Mastercard's Community Pass digital infrastructure to enable safer and faster payments for farmers, ensuring they receive fair compensation for their produce.
AEGF operates with the support of Syngenta Foundation, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Tata Trusts, and other social impact-focused organizations in India. The collaboration with Mastercard addresses the infrastructure challenges related to digitizing rural communities, such as unreliable connectivity, low smartphone ownership, and the lack of consistent identification or credentials. By leveraging Mastercard's digital infrastructure, the partnership aims to expand farmers' access to knowledge, products, services, and partnerships, benefiting millions of individuals working in the farming and agricultural sectors within the next three years. The overarching objective is to provide easier access to markets and formal financial services for farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs.
The collaboration aligns with AEGF's vision of equipping 20 million smallholder farmers in India with digital tools and financial services, creating sustainable livelihoods for 100,000 agricultural entrepreneurs by 2030.
Rajendra Jog, Executive Director of Syngenta Foundation India and Director of AEGF, highlighted that the collaboration will accelerate the digitization process for millions of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs supported by the foundation. The partnership aims to enhance the income of smallholders by reducing input costs, increasing output prices, and providing access to credit and crop advisory services through the Bharat Kisan Manch platform.
Simon Winter, Global Head of Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, emphasized that by engaging with Mastercard's Community Pass, farmers will gain easier access to agricultural services, leading to improved efficiency, increased crop yields, higher prices, and greater profitability. Additionally, farmers with a digital presence can develop better credit profiles and gain access to institutional credit, enhancing their financial capabilities.
Through Mastercard's digital infrastructure, AEGF's network of agricultural entrepreneurs, and their comprehensive training initiatives, farmers will gain access to new marketplaces and a wider pool of potential buyers. This increased access is expected to improve livelihoods in a sustainable and commercially viable manner.
Tara Nathan, EVP of Digital Innovation for Emerging Markets at Mastercard, mentioned the ongoing efforts of Mastercard to digitize agricultural value chains and connect farmers with buyers, as well as provide access to inputs, advisory services, and financial solutions. Mastercard's Community Pass plays a crucial role in generating transaction history and credit-building opportunities for farmers, ultimately increasing their inclusion in the formal financial system. Through the collaboration with AEGF, Mastercard aims to establish an effective model of agricultural digitization that can serve as a global example.
Mastercard has already been active in connecting individuals in underserved, remote, and frequently offline communities with digital tools. Through Community Pass, they have successfully provided over 1.5 million farmers in India with access to agricultural markets, input providers, and financial services. These efforts demonstrate their commitment to improving the lives of farmers and promoting the digitization of agriculture in India.
Bharat Kisan Manch, a new digital platform aimed at promoting the digitization of Indian farmers, is being launched as a collaboration between AEGF and Mastercard. This joint effort aims to provide millions of Indian farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs with improved access to markets and formal financial services. Powered by Mastercard's Community Pass digital infrastructure, the platform will address the infrastructure challenges faced in digitizing rural communities, including limited connectivity, low smartphone ownership, and inconsistent identification and credentials.
AEGF, supported by organizations such as Syngenta Foundation, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and Tata Trusts, will combine its extensive network of over 15,000 agricultural entrepreneurs in rural areas with Mastercard's expertise in technology and digital payments. The overarching objective is to enhance farmers' access to knowledge, products, services, and partnerships, ultimately benefiting millions of individuals in the farming and agricultural sectors. The initiative's goal is to provide more convenient access to markets and formal financial services over the next three years.
This collaboration aligns with AEGF's vision of equipping 20 million smallholder farmers in India with digital tools and financial services while simultaneously creating sustainable livelihoods for 100,000 agricultural entrepreneurs by 2030.
Rajendra Jog, Executive Director of Syngenta Foundation India and Director of AEGF, highlighted that this partnership will accelerate the digitization process for millions of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs. The platform aims to help smallholders increase their income by reducing input costs, raising output prices, and gaining access to credit and crop advisory services through Bharat Kisan Manch.
Simon Winter, Global Head of Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, emphasized the benefits that farmers will reap through engagement with Mastercard's Community Pass. These benefits include improved efficiency, increased crop yields, higher prices, and greater profitability. Furthermore, farmers with a digital presence can establish better credit profiles and access institutional credit, enhancing their financial capabilities.
By leveraging Mastercard's digital infrastructure alongside AEGF's network and entrepreneurial training, the platform will provide farmers with access to new marketplaces and a broader range of potential buyers. This expansion in access is expected to improve livelihoods in a sustainable manner.
Tara Nathan, EVP of Digital Innovation for Emerging Markets at Mastercard, highlighted Mastercard's active involvement in digitizing agricultural value chains across multiple countries. Their initiatives have focused on connecting farmers with buyers, facilitating the supply and purchase of produce, and providing access to inputs, advisory services, and financial solutions. Community Pass plays a vital role in generating transaction history and credit-building opportunities, leading to increased inclusion of farmers in the formal financial system. Through collaboration with AEGF, Mastercard aims to establish an effective model of agricultural digitization that can serve as an example globally.
Mastercard has already made significant progress in connecting individuals in underserved communities with digital tools, benefitting over 1.5 million farmers in India who utilize Community Pass to access agricultural markets, input providers, and financial services. Their ongoing commitment to connecting remote and underserved communities closely aligns with the objectives of Bharat Kisan Manch, enabling greater digitization and access to digital services for Indian farmers.
