Athira Sethu
Kochi, 22 January 2025
Agritech startup DeHaat has acquired AgriCentral, an advisory platform for farms, from Olam Agri through a cash acquisition deal. The deal size has not be disclosed. With this acquisition, DeHaat will certainly be able to further strengthen digital services for farmers and expand its reach.
AgriCentral, launched in 2018, is reaching more than 10 million smallholder farmers through its features, which include crop price updates, personalized crop plans, crop health checks, and community platforms. Advanced technologies like GPS, satellite imagery, and machine learning are also used to enhance digital farming.
According to DeHaat CEO Shashank Kumar, such an acquisition combines AgriCentral’s farmer network into DeHaat’s own ecosystem. “We can connect their 10 million farmers with our existing supply chain, hence expanding their access to our services,” he said. Digital capabilities are another addition that can engage farmers while building up commerce solutions.
DeHaat, founded in 2012, offers services such as market access, quality farming inputs, expert advice, and exports. It operates in 12 states across India, reaching 3 million farmers through over 13,000 centers and 90 hubs in 120 districts.
The CEO of AgriCentral, Ramanarayanan Mahadevan, maintained a very optimistic view about DeHaat’s scaling its impact with its platform. According to him, this collaboration would bring a very wide spectrum of agriculture-related services more easily to AgriCentral users.
DeHaat has grown significantly. Operating revenue went up 40% year on year to Rs 2,700 crore in FY24. The losses have reduced by half as compared to FY23. By FY25, it aims to hit Rs 3,500 crore and achieve full profitability by the fourth quarter of FY25.
Today, 80% of DeHaat’s business is from agricultural output, and 20% is from farming inputs. This is DeHaat’s seventh acquisition, following its purchases of Vezamart, Farmguide, Helicrofter, and others.
DeHaat and AgriCentral have announced a partnership that will leverage technology to support Indian farmers and drive sustainable growth in the agriculture sector.
