Agribusiness

Well-versed in all the legal minutia of this highly regulated and evolving sector.

Overview

The traditional notion of agriculture is no longer relevant in the present context with massive technological and institutional changes introduced in the sector.

Agribusiness is a key industry and encompasses all facets of agriculture from basic farming to productive resources, agricultural commodities to facilitative services. Entities working in the sphere deal with issues pertaining to land laws, labour laws, intellectual property laws, international trade laws, food safety as well as environmental laws to name a few.

India also accounts for more than 450+ start-ups in the agri-tech space. The rise in the number of emerging agri-tech start-ups has fueled the curiosity of global investors and has led to various private-public partnerships in the sector in recent days. It is now a well-known fact that an assortment of technology like hybrid seeds, precision farming, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, geo-tagging and satellite monitoring, mobile apps, and farm management software can be applied at every stage in the agriculture process to increase productivity and farm incomes.

The application of technology in agriculture includes:

FinTech platforms
Farming as a service
Online marketplace for agricultural inputs and outputs
IoT technology and big data
Smart machines
Precision farming
Post-harvest technologies

With our expansive domain expertise and a special focus on start-ups, we cater to this sector in a holistic manner ranging from policy advisory, regulatory compliance, drafting of technology contracts to facilitating investment and handholding in funding rounds.

Services

Our service offerings, inter alia, include:

Advising on corporate and commercial matters including incorporation and dealing with the operational challenges of Agribusinesses from a legal and compliance point of view
Advisory and assistance pertaining to land use for agriculture or non-agriculture purposes.
Advisory on food and animal safety as well as health standards.
Advisory on labour laws, immigration laws, international trade, FSSAI regulation, environmental issues, organizational issues, investment issues, etc.
Advisory on data protection rights and data security with adequate safeguards in place to ensure confidentiality.
Contract negotiations and drafting considering challenges pertaining to data privacy, security, IP protection, limitation of liability etc.
Assistance with respect to regulatory compliance, audit and inspection by authorities.
Facilitating investment through assistance with the entire fund cycle, from establishing of investment vehicles and constant regulatory compliance to the winding-up process.
Comprehensive assistance with dispute resolution through litigation or alternative routes.