Arya.ag, an Indian agritech company offering storage facilities near farms and offering lending services to hundreds of thousands of farmers, has drawn investor interest and remained profitable even as global crop prices continue to fall in a volatile commodities market.
The investor interest has taken shape in the latest all-equity Series D round from GEF Capital Partners, totaling $81 million, of which more than 70% was primary capital and the rest secondary share sales, according to the company.
Globally, agricultural commodity prices are falling. Risks from extreme weather, input costs, trade disruptions, and biofuel policy shifts continue to weigh on agricultural markets, the World Bank has warned. This leaves businesses exposed to price swings and inventory losses. Nonetheless, Arya.ag says it is navigating the worst of that strain by steering clear of direct commodity bets and using a model that it says helps absorb shocks from downward pricing shifts.
Founded in 2013 by former ICICI Bank executives Prasanna Rao, Anand Chandra, and Chattanathan Devarajan, Arya.ag is built around a simple idea: giving farmers more control over when and to whom they sell their crops. The Noida-based startup offers storage close to farms while allowing farmers to borrow against warehoused grain to meet immediate cash needs and connecting them with a wider pool of buyers — from agri-corporations to processors and millers — helping them avoid the pressure to sell just after harvest, when prices are often weakest.
The company operates at scale, which sets Arya.ag apart from traditional lenders, banks, and other agribusiness platforms. The startup says it aggregates and stores about $3 billion worth of grain each year — roughly 3% of national output — and facilitates around $1.5 billion in loans annually, while keeping its rate of bad loans (known as gross non-performing assets, or NPAs) below 0.5% despite the recent drop in prices.
Arya.ag lends only a portion of the value of stored grain and tracks prices closely, triggering margin calls when required rather than taking losses itself, Rao said. Borrowers can respond by repaying part of the loan or adding more grain as collateral.
“You’re not immune …