Carnot Tech: How 3 IITians built an agri-tech startup that’s impacting over 1.5 lakh farmers

Keen on building products that solve real problems, Carnot Technologies found its true potential when the founders got to know about a community of entrepreneurs who were earning their livelihood by renting their tractors. When the company scratched the surface of this business venture, it realized that the tractor rental business was not just a small community but a huge sector of around 60 lakh people. In an interview with Bizz Buzz, Pushkar Limaye, Co Founder and CTO of Carnot Technologies, outlines how the company identified a crucial community involved in agriculture and coined a term for them - Rental Entrepreneurs

Tell us more about Carnot? Carnot Technologies began its entrepreneurial journey with the Carsense product. They operated out of a 200 sq ft office in Mumbai and seven people on the team in 2015. Carnot Tech was all set to take the automobile industry by storm. They realized the need for tech-enabled products to transform the Indian agri-tech space. This was the Eureka Moment!

The team had a tryst with the tractor community which steered them towards the agri-tech space. The rest is history. Carnot Tech coined the term - Rental Entrepreneurs (REs) for farmers who were renting out their tractors. The product was developed for the REs.

Today, its IoT platform Simha (rebranded to Krish-e Rental) by Carnot Tech has over 25,000 tractors, harvesters, and sprayers working on over three million acres of land each season. The platform is protected by five patents. What began with 3 IITians is now a company of over 70 team members, operating in more than 8 states and impacting over 1.5 lakh farmers.

In addition to streamlining income for the rental entrepreneurs, Carnot Tech also brought them to center stage as a key cog in the agricultural industry. The core idea was to bridge the gap with technology and help the agricultural sector grow with tech.

How is Carnot different from other brands in the sector?

It was a challenge to get the community on board because the farming community is not well-versed with technology. Therefore, introducing any new product is a challenge as it is for every company out there. But, over time Carnot Tech built that rapport. They helped the Rental Entrepreneurs streamline operations and see results for themselves. Soon enough, the community grew. The platform is easy to use for Rental Entrepreneurs and adds real value on the ground for them.

When the company started, the primary pain point which they identified was the lack of reliable tools which can help the REs to manage their tractors. With an AI-enabled IoT Kit connected to tractors, REs use the mobile-based application for real-time live tracking of their assets, exact acreages of work done, fuel status, and accounting solutions.

The solutions are tailored to the community's needs and Carnot Tech ensures that the product is value for money. The advantage that Carnot Tech has over other agri-tech solution companies is that it understands the need specific to the Indian agricultural sector. They have realised the pain points are the same for many other similar locations overseas also and hence the IoT kit is a great product market fit and impacts the farmers’ income across the globe.

How is the brand evolving and what are the current growth trajectory and projections?

Focused on identifying the issue that plagues the agricultural sector, the core team spent 6 months in Uttar Pradesh. They mapped out the Rental Entrepreneur persona. They understood the gaps in the system and realised that their telematics system could solve these problems. Their product is now helping these Rental Entrepreneurs monitor their tractors and streamline their income. Deciphering that these entrepreneurs did not have the bandwidth to define the average of how much work their tractor has done, Carnot Tech tested their telematics product to accumulate relevant data and make it accessible to the tractor owners. Their product and services now ensure that the tractor is not misused, prevent theft of diesel, etc. This same zeal, attention to detail, and understanding of product-market fit are what are driving growth at Carnot Tech. They are aware of the issues faced by the agricultural community on the ground and their solutions are crafted keeping these problems in mind.

Carnot Tech is now working on its global expansion. The company has already started catering to Rental Entrepreneurs in Europe and Africa and is witnessing a massive response to its product. Carnot Tech went international and deployed its IoT kits in Benin, Tanzania, and other African countries.

What is the government initiative on agri productivity ‘Digital Agriculture Mission 2021-24?

The Digital Agriculture Mission 2021–2025 aims to accelerate and support projects based on new technologies. These technologies include block chain, AI, remote sensing and GIS technology and the use of drones and robots. The initiates will include opportunities and investments in technology-based interventions in agriculture.

How can startups help farmers in increasing their productivity and marketing their produce?

Agriculture is the highest contributor to India’s annual GDP at 18 per cent to 20 per cent. Even though it is a huge industry, it is still peppered with on-ground challenges, slow growth rate, visibility issues, supply chain issues, etc. There is also a lack of a business mindset.

Indian Farmers do not operate with a business mindset because of reasons like low-landholding size, lesser risk appetite, and looking at earning marginal profits that help them sustain their families and buy enough to invest in the next set of crops. This is a major drawback when it comes to redefining and rewiring the entire agricultural sector as a business-led sector.

This is where agri-tech start-ups step in. The emerging business model of agri-tech start-ups in the context of running a business will help farming businesses be more efficient and data-driven. This is changing the psychology of rural value chain players, and a new generation of farming families are taking this as a business and talking about profits. It will bring the "Dhanda" mindset to agribusinesses.

Besides this, currently, crop selection and rotation in India are based on obsolete data. This anecdotal data about the crop yield in local farming seasons have failed to accommodate the changing soil quality, weather patterns, and climate change adversaries over the years. Agri-tech companies are now working towards accumulating and analyzing current data with the use of tech-powered tools to understand and forecast the yield holistically.

What new laws will help to India's agri-sector?

The government is working towards implementing initiatives and laws to help the agriculture sector digitise its operations. One such law, The Farm Acts prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess, or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for the trade of farmers' produce conducted in an 'outside trade area’. Besides this, The FPTC Act, enacted by the Central government, gives the freedom to sell and buy farm produce at any place in the country, within APMC mandis or outside them. Ignorer to promote e-commerce in agriculture, the new law also allows the setting up of an electronic platform for the sale and/or purchase of farm produce.