DCM Shriram Foundation and The/Nudge Institute, in partnership with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, have announced EF Polymer as the winner of the DCM Shriram AgWater Challenge.
A media statement said EF Polymer was awarded ₹2 crore for its solutions to enhance water-use efficiency and boost agricultural productivity for India’s smallholder farmers.
EF Polymer is an agro-biologicals startup. Currently operating in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, EF Polymer’s product – Fasal Amrit – is an organic soil conditioner that can absorb water up to 100 times its weight. This ensures optimal soil moisture retention and boosts crop yields. Over the last two years, EF Polymer has covered over 17,000 farmers across 11 states, increasing irrigation efficiency by 40 per cent, and 18.72 per cent yield increase, it said.
Special recognition
CultYvate, an agri-tech platform by Farm2Fork Technologies, received special recognition for driving affordable technology and data transparency for smallholder farmers. It was awarded ₹25 lakh for its contributions to developing smart irrigation systems that simplify irrigation and provide farmers with advisory for effective decision-making. CultYvate leverages IoT-enabled soil sensors, weather stations, and satellite-based remote sensing to deliver critical insights on moisture levels, crop health, environmental conditions, and beyond. Operational in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab, its services particularly benefit paddy farmers.
Launched in June 2023, with the cohort kicking off in September of the same year, the DCM Shriram AgWater Challenge was designed with the goal to drive water efficiency, productivity, and profitability for one million smallholder farmers in India, focusing on four major water-intensive crops such as sugarcane, wheat, paddy and cotton.
It received 134 applications. Of this, 16 ag-tech organizations were selected for the cohort, driving innovations across irrigation, bio-ag inputs, advisory services, and more. Post evaluation, four finalists were identified for their potential: EF Polymer, CultYvate, IndusTill, and PhyFarm.
IndusTill Farmtech Pvt Ltd provides an agricultural technology innovator called AutoFarm to automate irrigation, promoting micro-irrigation and improving water efficiency, the statement said. Its IoT platform automates irrigation and fertigation with smart devices, managed via a mobile app, helping boost yield and efficiency while reducing water, fertilizer, and pesticide use.
Critical resource
PhyFarm (Physiz Agtech Pvt Ltd) offers irrigation automation technology that enables farmers to remotely control pumps and valves via a mobile application that measures and optimizes water usage using intelligent irrigation systems.
Quoting Ajay S Shriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram Ltd and Director of DCM Shriram Foundation, the statement said water is the most critical resource for agriculture. Against the backdrop of the nation’s severe water crisis, this challenge forms a crucial mission to find and scale holistic, modern solutions to make water use more efficient for smallholder farmers.
“We congratulate the winner, along with the other finalists, for their pioneering work – and look forward to watching these solutions continue to scale and transform the lives of millions of farmers around the nation,” he said.
Kanishka Chatterjee, Director of The/Nudge Prize, said: “When we launched this Prize – the AgWater Challenge, we faced a complex question about groundwater depletion and smallholder incomes. Despite hurdles like free water access and fragmented decision-making, fourteen organizations showed exceptional grit tackling this high-impact problem. I’m deeply proud that all four finalists have set the foundation for an AgWater inflection point in India. Their commitment birthed India’s first AgWater ecosystem, bringing together experts, investors, and enablers with genuine urgency. They’ve proven technological solutions can be both accessible and transformative for smallholders. The path remains complex, but we’ve shown innovative, scalable solutions are within reach. We should only go above and beyond from here.”
