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MassChallenge – Israel Won by Indian Startup for Increasing Farm Yield by 700%

© AFP 2023 / THOMAS COEX A picture taken on November 29, 2015 shows the Tel Aviv skyline from the neighbourhood of Jaffa
A picture taken on November 29, 2015 shows the Tel Aviv skyline from the neighbourhood of Jaffa - Sputnik International
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Kheyti has helped farmers in Telangana avail a greenhouse structure which occupies only 2% of the farmer’s land; uses 90% less water with drip irrigation and delivers seven times higher yield.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Indian startup ‘Kheyti,’ that provides technological solutions to farmers, has won the MassChallenge Israel – a global competition that promotes and accelerates high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs. Kheyti went through a three-month process before sharing the honor with an Israeli startup as the “diamond winners” of this year’s contest.

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Kheyti bagged the award along with a cash prize of USD 42,000 for developing an affordable modular greenhouse that aims to give farmers a steady and dependable income. The award comes at a time when the government of India has announced the year 2022 (75th year of India’s independence) as a target year to double the income of farmers in the country.

“All the teams in MassChallenge were solving some of the most pressing problems in the world. What set Kheyti apart is its unique position to leverage agriculture technology from Israel, customize it and distribute it to small farmers in India,” Saumya Co-Founder of Kheyti told Sputnik.

Kheyti, a name derived from the Hindi word for farming, started its operation in the year 2015 in Shamirpet in Hyderabad with an initial investment of about $26500.

“It is good news for the Indian agro-industry as a whole. When meaningful start-ups like Kheyti wins an accolade it sends a message of encouragement and hope for several others who want to make a difference in the field of agricultural innovation and development,” agricultural expert and convener of Start-Up India Forum Vijay Sardana told Sputnik.

“An award to Kheyti means recognition of a meaningful model which takes the paradigm of a start-up in India beyond just marketing and sales ideas,” Vijay Sardana added.

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The total expense to install the Kheyti developed greenhouse around $2500. The farmer has to make a down payment of around $500 and Kheyti helps the farmer arrange the rest as funding from banks or NBFCs.

“Winning the award further strengthens the vision our Prime Minister spoke about in his visit to Israel earlier this year. Countries like Israel have the technologies but lack a sizable market. Organizations like Kheyti are trying to bridge that gap by getting the right technologies to the people who need it the most. We understand farmers and have the ability to adapt hi-tech products and services to the needs of the bottom of the pyramid. We look forward to working with many more technology partners for reducing cost and increasing accessibility. Our vision is to make farming a sustainable profession for each farmer we work with and impact 1 million farmer lives by 2025,” Saumya further added.

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