A German startup is using technology to help Indian farmers.

Progressive Environmental and Agricultural Technologies (PEAT) has, over the last couple of years, been working with 30,000 Indian farmers. Agriculture today is a $500 billion opportunity and there are more than 30 Indian startups that are using technology to solve problems in the industry. According to the World Bank, India has 395 million acres of land available for cultivation, of which only 215 million acres are cultivated. PEAT was set up in 2015. But it all started in South America. Four of PEAT's seven founders met during a German-Brazilian five-year research project in Amazonia, dealing with greenhouse gases (GHG), sustainability and land use change. There main research topic was the emission of GHG induced by land use change and options for action to mitigate them. PEAT’s India entry was through International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which has its global headquarters in Hyderabad. ICRISAT, which works on improving their mandate crops (mainly pulses) around the world, started work on digital agriculture. This year, PEAT, along with ICRISAT, has rolled out Plantix, a free app for farmers in South India. The app is adapted to important crops in the region and is offered in local languages.continue