India’s largest agricultural warehousing platform, Arya.ag, has partnered with Ava Labs to launch a dedicated Layer 1 blockchain built on Avalanche. The network is designed to digitize the connection between stored grain, warehouse receipts, and agricultural lending.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani announced the initiative at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai. The system records grain deposits, electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (e-NWRs), and loan-status data, giving authorized lenders a shared source of information when verifying crops pledged as collateral.

Arya.ag’s warehouses currently hold approximately $2 billion worth of crops across its network. The platform facilitates roughly $1.3 billion in agricultural credit annually, including about $230 million provided directly by its non-bank finance subsidiary, Arya Dhan. Three major banks have already joined the network, although their identities have not been disclosed. Ava Labs India head Devika Mittal said other warehouse operators may be admitted during a future expansion phase.

The blockchain deployment builds on India’s existing legal framework. Farmers who store crops in registered warehouses receive e-NWRs, which can already be used to secure loans while the produce remains in storage. The new ledger connects data about the deposited crop, its receipt, and its financing status. This allows banks to confirm that the grain exists, check whether another lender has already taken it as collateral, and assess outstanding debt.

The system is intended to address a persistent inefficiency in agricultural lending. Warehouse operators and lenders have historically maintained records in separate systems, making it more difficult to verify collateral and determine whether it has already been pledged elsewhere.

BREAKING: India is bringing agricultural credit to Avalanche, unlocking a new layer of access for millions of farmers Together with @finternet_org , Arya․ag is bringing agricultural financing infrastructure onchain, alongside 4-5 major lenders including Singularity Credit and… pic.twitter.com/5sb10u49SK — Avalanche (@avax) September 10, 2026

BREAKING: India is bringing agricultural credit to Avalanche, unlocking a new layer of access for millions of farmers Together with @finternet_org , Arya․ag is bringing agricultural financing infrastructure onchain, alongside 4-5 major lenders including Singularity Credit and… pic.twitter.com/5sb10u49SK

Tokenization Without Ownership Transfer

The initiative does not involve tokenized grain trading or the transfer of crop ownership through public markets. The grain remains in physical warehouses, while the legally recognized e-NWR continues to serve as the operative financing document. The blockchain records information associated with the grain and its financing rather than replacing the underlying legal instrument.

Arya.ag has cautioned that potential benefits—including faster approvals, lower costs, and broader access to credit—remain unproven in deployment. No comparative data on processing times, expenses, or approval rates has been published so far.

The $2 billion figure also requires context. It represents the estimated value of crops held across Arya.ag’s network, not the amount of lending already recorded onchain. Neither Arya.ag nor Ava Labs has disclosed transaction volumes, smart-contract details, or the amount of collateral that has entered the system. No independent audit has been announced.

The operating framework draws on the Finternet concept developed by Nilekani and former Bank for International Settlements general manager Agustín Carstens in a 2024 BIS working paper. The concept proposes interconnected financial ecosystems that use tokenization and unified ledgers. Finternet is contributing rules for communication between warehouses and lenders, although governance structures, dispute-resolution procedures, and data-access policies remain unspecified.

Arya.ag reportedly serves between 850,000 and 900,000 farmers through approximately 12,000 leased warehouses covering 60% of India’s districts. The company previously achieved loan approvals in under five minutes using AI-based grain-quality assessment and satellite monitoring. This suggests that the blockchain layer is primarily intended to improve institutional record-sharing rather than deliver a dramatic increase in processing speed.

The project takes an institution-first approach to real-world asset tokenization. Its practical impact on agricultural finance will become measurable only after onchain data and the extent of bank participation are made public.