The digital ag marketplace aims to bring fairer prices to restaurants and retailers and more profit to small and medium farmers.
The St Paul, Minnesota-based startup will continue to build out its technology that connects lenders and farmers, giving the latter improved access to working capital.
The funding will enable the Indian startup to take its rapid soil testing kit and analytics services to the country’s 130 million smallholder farmers.
Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry leaving many farmers dependent on wholesale accounts without a place to sell harvests.
Small farmers reliant on restaurant and direct-to-consumer sales are feeling the financial impact of Covid-19 with little end in sight.
The region’s smallholders are increasingly active users of mobile tech, according to a new study – but adoption of solutions developed specifically for them remains low.
“One of our first farms in Detroit went from $10,000 in revenue to $80,000 in revenue from our funding. It unlocked so much growth,” Steward CEO told AFN.
