Bayer, Rabo Partnerships and Mastercard have come together to launch a scalable programme to advance the digitisation of the Indian agricultural finance ecosystem. This collaboration brings together the expertise of three companies in digital, agri finance and payments technology to bear upon the task of expanding access to agronomic knowledge, products, services, and partnerships.
Over five years, the programme aims to benefit 10 million smallholder farmers in India by enabling them to gain access to formal financial services, Bayer said in a statement.
The smallholder farmers, who account for 86 per cent of India’s agrarian economy, have difficulty sourcing quality farm products and are often at the mercy of middlemen when it comes to pricing.
D Narain, President, Bayer South Asia and Global Head of Smallholder Farming said, “We are delighted to join hands with Rabo Partnerships and Mastercard to build a digital ecosystem that will further help smallholders in India. Through this partnership, smallholder farmers will not only gain easy access to agricultural advisory services and direct market linkages, but also build their credit profiles and lower their input costs through access to institutional credit, allowing them to increase efficiency, improve crop yields, and grow their profits significantly.”
Mastercard’s Farm Pass is a digital ecosystem platform that works offline, even with feature phones, connecting buyers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and other agriculture ecosystem players with farmers digitally, and helping them get the best value for their produce. The solution, which serves over 600,000 farmers in India and two million globally, creates a standard interface for farmers and buyers that facilitates greater efficiency in the agriculture value chain.
Nikhil Sahni, Division President, South Asia, Mastercard said, “As part of Mastercard’s pledge to connect one billion people to the digital economy, the company has been actively working with farmers in several countries to bring them onto a digital platform that directly connects them with buyers, empowering them to negotiate the best price for their produce. This is in line with the Indian government’s efforts towards inclusive growth by leveraging technology. The collaboration with Bayer and Rabo Partnerships is helping build an effective model of agricultural digitisation that can serve as a global example.”
Banks often find it difficult to serve the rural ecosystem effectively as most farmers don’t have a formal credit history, thereby limiting access to any formal financial services beyond the Kisan Credit Card and equipment finance.
To further provide financing access to farmers and FPOs, this partnership will continue to look at collaborations with local banks and financial institutions in India, to create greater value for smallholder farmers and the entire agri ecosystem.
This will be enabled through data-driven scoring tools deployed with partner financial institutions, along with credit analytics supported by Rabo Partnerships, which will give banks more comfort in serving smallholder farmers with a complete portfolio of financial services, including credit.
David Gerbrands, Global Head, Advisory & Inclusive Ventures, Rabo Partnerships said: “Rabo Partnerships aims to contribute to the improvement of farmer livelihoods worldwide. Achieving this requires sustainable partnerships, which is why Rabo Partnerships is excited to partner with Bayer and Mastercard to establish a scalable digital ecosystem, enabling farmers as well as other agricultural value chain partners with an array of services, including agro advisory, inputs procurement, marketing, and access to formal financial services.”