Start-up Agrotech Solutions
Pune Venture Center Incubates, Saumya Rawat and Dheeraj Chaudhary created a device that takes the laboratory to the field to help farmers test soil cheaply, quickly and efficiently.
Pune: It was a field trip that changed everything for Saumya Rawat. As a master’s student in agricultural science, she had to spend time in villages to understand how the principles discussed in class work in real farms.
She recalls, “During my field visits, I was stunned by the reality. Despite agriculture being the backbone of our economy, farmers had little awareness about soil health or access to proper soil testing. Whenever I met them, they said the same thing – ‘Madam, we use fertilizers based on experience and guesswork.’ And it was not because they did not care about their soil. The soil testing system itself was broken.”
According to Soumya, soil testing was very expensive and inaccessible at the village level.
“Farmers have to go to private laboratories, where a test can cost anywhere from 3,000 more 5,000. These laboratories are far from their areas, it takes 30-60 days to give a report, and when the reports finally come, they are so complex that farmers cannot understand them. So they use fertilizers indiscriminately.”
This indiscriminate use of fertilizers was causing the same crisis that farmers were facing. “With haphazard use, nutrients leach into the groundwater. The soil becomes acidic or saline, pH is disturbed, yields are reduced and fertilizer worth thousands is wasted. Worst of all, the health of the soil continues to deteriorate.”
It is no surprise that India’s nutrient-use efficiency is among the lowest in the world. “Our nitrogen use efficiency is around 30%, which means 70% of the urea is wasted. Phosphorus efficiency is only 15-20%. The data shocked me,” she says.
As the challenge of food security deepens due to a growing population and unpredictable climate patterns, Soumya realizes that the classroom can’t teach her anything: India’s food problem can’t be solved unless the health of the soil is fixed first.
Idea
Soumya knew the problem, but not the solution. One day, he told his friend and technical professional Dheeraj Chaudhary, “We study soil health for years… but farmers don’t even get basic soil testing when they need it.”
Listening patiently, Dheeraj paused and asked a question that would change everything:
“If people can check their blood sugar at home, why can’t farmers check their soil the same way?”
Soumya replied almost casually, “Because labs are complicated! Chemistry, sensors, extractions… nothing is simple!” But Dheeraj added: “So let’s make it simple. Let’s bring the lab to the farmer instead of sending the farmer to the lab.”
And thus the seed of ‘Ecosite Soil Doctor’ was sown.
product manufacturing
Once the question of endurance set the tone, everything accelerated. The two spent nights reading research papers, visited laboratories, met with chemists, professors and agronomists, and filled whiteboards with possibilities – all with the same goal: to bring the laboratory to the farmer.
“There were many technologies available,” says Soumya. “We did a lot of experiments and finally focused on the most suitable colorimetry. Then came the challenge of developing formulations that could test the soil. Many of the chemicals were in liquid form and were dangerous to transport to the fields, so we converted them to stable powder form.”
An important part of soil health is soil organic carbon (SOC), which improves fertility, water retention and nutrient availability. Increasing SOC also helps in carbon sequestration, which reduces soil erosion and reduces carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
When designing the device, they asked four fundamental questions:
Can soil testing be as quick as glucose testing?
Can it be affordable for every farmer?
Could it be simple enough to use in the field?
Can its accuracy match that of a standard laboratory?
After several iterations, the prototype was ready by 2023. It gave results in 50 minutes, could be carried in a backpack and required only basic training.
“Our device didn’t improve the lab,” says Soumya. “It eliminated the need for the lab.”
Soil Doctor fills all the major gaps in one integrated model:
Digital report in 50 minutes instead of 30 days
Instead of Rs 500 per test 3,000- 5,000
Portable and field-friendly, usable by any trained soil didi
92-96% laboratory-level accuracy using hybrid chemistry + sensors
Helps farmers save 20-30% on fertilizers, increase yields 10-20% and improve long-term soil health
But innovation is only half the journey – the real test is in adoption.
sell to soil doctor
Following pilot trials in 2023, Soil Doctor was set for market launch in 2024.
“We had already decided that we would reach out to farmers through NGOs, FPOs and agri-companies. NGOs already work with village level resource persons. We chose people who wanted to support their families and do positive work,” says Soumya.
The first batch included two young women – who soon became known as Mrida Didi. Today, there are 10. Instead of going from farm to farm, they hold awareness meetings and group demonstrations.
“In our first kharif season, we conducted 500 soil tests,” says Soumya.
How does the soil doctor work?
Soil Doctor works like a mini-lab inside a tiny device – making soil testing as easy as measuring blood sugar.
Step 1: Collect Soil Sample
Step 2: Mix it with Ecosite’s extraction solution in a bottle
Step 3: Add a few drops to the device
Inside the device, sensors and chemical reactions measure nutrient levels – similar to glucose or pregnancy test strips, but more advanced.
Step 4: The instrument analyzes nutrients-N, P, K, pH, organic carbon, EC and micronutrients.
Step 5: Data is sent to the cloud
Step 6: A simple, color-coded advisory report is generated in 50 minutes
Farmers receive fertilizer recommendations, dos and don’ts, crop-specific advice and application schedules—all in simple language.
Today, Ecosite also uses social media aggressively. “Some reels have got over four lakh views,” says Saumya. “All organic leads.”
So far, more than 5,000 farmers from seven states have used the tool.
The company performed brilliantly last year 57 lakh in revenue; This year their goal is to reach 1 crore.
money Matters
Soil Doctor was built with a mix of individual investments, grants and early-stage funding.
“We invested 18 lakhs from his own money, and received government grants 1.1 crore,” says Soumya.
Competition
Soumya is clear about competition. She says, “In the soil testing scenario, we compete with traditional private laboratories and some international sensor-based companies as well as players like Harvesto, Pusa STFR Meters, Agrotantra, Neoperc and GeoTester. Each competitor has its own USP – some offer lab-in-a-box machines, some offer semi-automatic solutions, some use electrical or spectral sensing. But these systems still have some limitations. Cons: Many depend on static electricity, which is unreliable in villages; maintenance is high as the devices require frequent calibration or on-site servicing and most importantly they stop at testing and do not provide end-to-end advice;
“EcoSight Soil Doctor is fundamentally different. Our instrument is completely portable, battery operated, and works perfectly in remote villages without electricity. We provide laboratory-standard accuracy with field convenience – delivering results in 50 minutes, not days. While many competitors require trained technicians or complex laboratory conditions, Soil Doctor can be operated by any Soil Didi or village entrepreneur. Maintenance is minimal Because our calibration, troubleshooting and updates happen remotely, the device is always perfect without physical servicing.
“Most importantly, we don’t just limit ourselves to soil testing – we stay with the farmer throughout the season with actionable fertilizer advice, satellite insights, nutrient planning and ongoing support. Deliver competitive results; we deliver decisions, savings and yield improvements. This combination of portability, accuracy, low maintenance, offline usability and end-to-end advice creates a moat that even big domestic and international brands struggle to match, making Soil Doctor the real Indian farming becomes the most practical and scalable solution for the situations.”
future plans
Ecosite Soil Doctor aims to be “the world’s most trusted soil and crop intelligence platform – improving farm profitability, enabling clean procurement and restoring soil health at scale. Our vision goes far beyond soil testing. We are building an end-to-end soil and crop intelligence ecosystem that will transform how India grows food and how companies buy it.”
Over the next 12-36 months, they plan to deploy 1,000+ Soil Doctor devices to create India’s largest ground-level soil dataset. They are also working on building a complete Soil + Crop Intelligence platform for procurement teams to source contamination-free, traceable produce directly from farmers. Integrate AI-based advice for nutrients, pests, water and soil regeneration.
“We want to create a network of over 5000 Soil Didis who will be village-level agriculture advisors. We aim to enable digital traceability from soil to crop, help farmers meet export standards, expand to Africa and South East Asia, regions facing similar soil health challenges. Plans are also underway to develop advanced modules for carbon measurement, sustainable farming scorecards and climate resilience.”
