MVF aims to provide technology to farmers to increase yield, reduce input costs while preventing overuse of synthetic input to improve overall soil health.
It has integrated several technologies, such as drones, satellite imagery, Internet of Things (IoT) insights, soil testing into a low-cost package to farmers.
The company sees an urgent need to bring existing agricultural technologies to rural farmers, ensuring they can adopt tools that improve yields and reduce input costs.
“Our innovation bucket is overflowing but our implementation bucket is half empty,” said Ashutosh Sharma, co-founder and chief technical officer of MVF.
Across approximately 1,400 farms, the organisation has helped reduce input costs by an average of around 30 per cent.
Sharma added that average yield increases of 15 to 20 per cent over one crop cycle are common, with higher gains observed in cases where soil conditions were particularly poor at the outset.
“We combine digital and physical models. The digital part covers analysis and advisory, while the physical part ensures farmers have on-the-ground support. We train and guide village-level entrepreneurs to run innovation centres in rural areas, each serving around 10 to 15 villages. This approach helps build trust and bridge the digital divide.”
Removing tech’s pricey barrier
At roughly around U$20 per hectare, per season, farmers are able to access these high-tech tools through a familiar WhatsApp chat.
Through the chat, the company’s agronomy team guides recommendations using farmer-sent photos and its data.
Sharma stressed that the low price point was intentional, as smallholders are both cost-conscious and often hesitant to adopt new technologies.
He noted that benefits of improved soil fertility and sustainable practices typically take one or two crop cycles to become fully apparent, so the organisation aims to remove price as a barrier to initial adoption.
At the same time, it works with larger organisations to balance financial sustainability with its mission-driven goals.
It has tapped onto strong global push on sustainability and clean energy. India for instance, has ambitious targets to adopt fossil fuel alternatives such as compressed natural gas.
Likewise, the company uses its tech to help these large-scale agricultural producers boost yields and cut input costs.
“We are using the same technology but priced slightly higher because we need to subsidise the farmers. But it’s still a net gain for the agri and clean energy industries because it helps them reduce the cost of production per unit area and increase the yield by around 20 to 25 per cent,” said Sharma.
Expansion ahead
The startup has a tight core team of 12 and relies on raining and supporting local village-level entrepreneurs and, in some cases, partnering with non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
With these partnerships, it has set up Smart Village Centres (SVCs) to serve village clusters and build a trusted place for farmers to turn to.
Looking ahead, the foundation plans to open three more innovation centres in India over the next 12 months.
It also hopes to expand internationally especially to target the Middle East and Africa region.
“From our work across India, including the desert areas of Rajasthan, we’ve seen that farmers in countries like Morocco or across Africa face similar challenges. Small landholdings, cost-consciousness, and reluctance to adopt technology keep yields per acre well below levels seen in Europe or North America,” said Sharma.
The company was attending World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in Dubai last December to explore opportunities in the region.
“For regions focused on food security, such as the Middle East and Africa, increasing yields sustainably is essential. That cannot be achieved by simply adding more fertilisers, which damage the soil’s biotic ecosystem, reducing bacterial diversity and limiting nutrient uptake. Over time, soil fertility and productivity decline. We believe the same sustainable, soil-focused solutions we use in India can help improve food security abroad, boost yields, and benefit both farmers and their countries,” said Sharma.
