Tech for livestock farmers has become a serious business in the country where animal wearables thrive.
Hundreds of tech start ups have launched in India focused on livestock, including cow facial recognition devices and systems. This trend is changing agribusiness in the country.
Agri-science technology such as livestock wearable health monitors are vital to these producers.
This agri-science boom has inspired investors as cow facial recognition has taken off as vital solutions for the industry. It has raised hopes within a struggling but important sector in the country, though government assistance is still needed.
Indian agriculture has always played a central role in the country’s economy. It represents approximately 18 percent of the Indian GDP. Over half the country’s population is employed by the industry. However, it remains fragmented and struggling. These challenges only increase as its obsolete infrastructure and weak logistics add to a massive annual post-harvest loss of US$13.1 billion.
The country’s farmers are hoping technology such as cow facial recognition will change this trend.
Farmer suicide rates have been rising as they become overwhelmed by debt. Across the country, enormous protests have taken place in order to demand crop price improvements, as well as loan waivers and drought relief action.
Amid these uprisings, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made many promises to help support farmers. Two years ago, he promised to raise farmer incomes and launch a digital village program (nicknamed the “DigiGaon”) to provide a connection among over 100,000 villages to the internet. This would give those villages with access to resources such as health care, banking and online education.
Alongside the struggling agriculture industry has arrived a thriving agri-technology industry. The hope is that the newly developed tech will change the direction farmers have been facing. The goal is to use livestock wearable technology and facial recognition systems for animals such as cows, in order to significantly improve efficiencies and savings.
The improved rural connectivity is only bolstering the private agri-technology sector in India as start-ups continue to boom. That said, farmers and start-ups both say that if they 
are to successfully support livestock farmers with new tech such as cow facial recognition, more government support will be required.
