Saurabh Agarwal, Founder of GrowiT, on building a technology-driven protected farming company, making data-led cultivation accessible to farmers, and creating a scalable model for India’s agriculture ecosystem.

Agriculture in India has traditionally relied heavily on experience, local knowledge, and established farming practices. While these methods continue to play an important role, changing weather patterns, rising input costs, soil degradation, and the need for higher productivity are pushing farmers to explore technology-led approaches to cultivation.

It is within this gap that GrowiT, founded in 2020 by Saurabh Agarwal, is building its business around protected farming and productivity enhancement.

A third-generation entrepreneur, Agarwal entered the agriculture sector after identifying an opportunity that he believed remained relatively underserved. According to him, much of the startup activity in agriculture has focused on procurement, supply chains, or providing conventional inputs, while comparatively less attention has been given to technologies and products that can directly help increase crop output.

GrowiT was established with this focus, developing products and technologies designed to support farmers from the soil preparation stage through the crop cycle and ultimately to harvest.

Moving From Soil to Harvest

GrowiT’s approach is built around what Agarwal describes as a “soil-to-harvest” model.

Rather than treating agricultural inputs as isolated products, the company aims to support farmers across different stages of cultivation. Its product portfolio includes mulching films, fruit and crop covers, shade nets, weed mats, support mats, fibre sticks, plastic clips, wires, and other products designed for different crop-growth stages.

One of the company’s key initiatives is its patented soil-testing device, which is intended to help farmers make more informed decisions about crop suitability.

For Agarwal, the objective is to move farmers away from making cultivation decisions purely based on traditional practices or what has historically been grown in a particular region.

The approach combines soil data with protected farming products to help farmers determine what can potentially work better for their land and crop requirements.

GrowiT has also worked toward validating its products through certifications and trials involving agricultural research institutions and government and private bodies. The company cites instances where its products have contributed to significant improvements in crop yield, including an increase of around 50% in specific applications.

Building Trust Through Local Distribution

For an agricultural technology company, developing the product is only one part of the challenge. The bigger question is often how to convince farmers to adopt something new.

Agarwal believes that India’s agricultural market requires a highly localized approach because farmers often rely heavily on people they already trust.

According to him, local agricultural shopkeepers are among the most influential people in the decision-making process for farmers. These retailers understand the local farming community, crop cycles, and regional requirements, making them important intermediaries between technology providers and end users.

GrowiT has therefore adopted a franchisee-led distribution model, working with local partners who invest in inventory and help introduce the company’s products to farmers.

The model is intended to combine local relationships with GrowiT’s product and technology capabilities.

However, building this network has also exposed the company to one of the industry’s fundamental challenges: awareness.

Agarwal points out that many farmers remain unfamiliar with modern protected farming technologies, while the market is also highly price-sensitive. Farmers may often compare products primarily on their upfront price rather than considering potential productivity improvements, product life, or long-term economics.

For GrowiT, this means that education and demonstration are as important as distribution.

Addressing Sustainability Alongside Productivity

The use of plastic-based products in agriculture has raised environmental concerns globally, particularly around disposal after a crop cycle.

GrowiT says it is addressing this issue through a combination of product standards, biodegradable alternatives, and recycling initiatives.

The company has developed products conforming to BIS standards and has also introduced biodegradable options where applicable. In addition, its buyback model allows certain products to be collected after the crop cycle and sent for recycling instead of being discarded.

According to Agarwal, these initiatives have contributed to avoiding approximately 18,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.

For the company, sustainability is therefore being positioned alongside productivity rather than as a separate initiative. The objective is to help farmers increase output while also creating a more responsible lifecycle for agricultural materials.

Scaling Across India’s Diverse Agricultural Landscape

India’s agricultural market presents another unique challenge: there is no single farmer profile or farming ecosystem.

Agricultural practices vary significantly across states, languages, soil conditions, crops, climate patterns, and local cultural practices.

Agarwal says scaling GrowiT across the country therefore requires more than simply expanding distribution. The company needs people on the ground who understand local languages, cultures, farmer behaviour, and regional agricultural practices.

This localized approach is particularly important for introducing technologies that require a change in established farming habits.

The company’s broader ambition is to make protected farming more accessible while continuing to develop products specifically suited to India’s agricultural requirements.

Viewing Funding as a Vehicle, Not the Destination

As GrowiT expands, funding remains an important part of its growth strategy. However, Agarwal views capital differently from simply treating fundraising as a milestone.

He describes funding as a “vehicle” that can help a company reach its targets faster.

For him, the underlying business and the ability to execute remain more important than the amount of capital raised.

This perspective also shapes his view of the relationship between founders and investors. According to Agarwal, investors ultimately look beyond the initial idea and assess whether the founding team can execute that idea effectively.

For GrowiT, the focus is therefore on building the operational capabilities, distribution network, product portfolio, and manufacturing infrastructure required to create a long-term business.

A Large Opportunity for Protected Farming

Agarwal sees significant headroom for protected and precision cultivation in India.

He points to the relatively low penetration of such technologies in the Indian market compared with Western markets, where protected cultivation and related farming technologies have achieved substantially higher adoption.

This gap, according to him, represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions are adding further pressure on agricultural productivity. Technologies that can help farmers manage growing conditions, protect crops, improve resource utilization, and increase yields could therefore become increasingly relevant.

GrowiT intends to remain a product-focused company and plans to build its own manufacturing capabilities as it scales.

Building GrowiT Into a Category Name

Looking ahead, Agarwal’s ambition extends beyond building a successful agricultural products company.

His long-term goal is for GrowiT to become synonymous with protected farming, similar to how certain brand names have become associated with an entire category of products.

Achieving that vision would require GrowiT to expand its product ecosystem, deepen farmer awareness, strengthen its distribution network, and continue developing technologies that address real agricultural challenges.

For Agarwal, the opportunity lies in bringing together technology, localized distribution, product innovation, and sustainability to address one of India’s most important challenges: producing more from agriculture while making farming more resilient.

As India moves toward greater adoption of precision and protected cultivation, GrowiT is positioning itself around a simple proposition — helping farmers move from soil to harvest with greater data, protection, and productivity.

Interview By: Arushi Agarwal