Agriculture & Farming Sector Advertising in 2024–25

Trends, Insights, and Regional Dominance

The Agriculture and Farming sector continues to evolve rapidly, driven by rising mechanization, agri-tech innovation, and the increasing integration of digital channels into the rural economy. These shifts are strongly reflected in how agribusinesses are planning and allocating their advertising budgets.

This article summarizes key insights from more than 2,000 campaigns executed by Excellent Publicity, supported by additional analysis from TAM Media Research. It explores media investment trends across television, print, radio, and digital, as well as the leading advertisers, preferred publishers, regional patterns, time-band preferences, and advertising strategies seen through 2024 and early 2025.

This synthesis aims to help marketers, agribusiness leaders, agencies, and agri-tech brands better understand how the Agriculture & Farming category invests in media today and what opportunities lie ahead.

About Excellent Publicity

Excellent Publicity is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and provides customized advertising solutions that help businesses achieve measurable growth. The company offers expertise in media planning, social media management, digital marketing, influencer programs, sports marketing, corporate gifting, and creative services.

With more than 3,000 happy clients, 150 plus professionals, and over 50,000 vendor partnerships, Excellent Publicity has executed more than 1.5 lakh campaigns across four major verticals. The organization operates throughout metro and Tier II cities across India and the MENA region, and continues to expand its global footprint.

The agency’s scale, data-driven decisioning, and campaign experience position it as a trusted partner for agriculture and agri-tech brands aiming to navigate a rapidly transforming media landscape.

1. Advertising Spend Trends (2022–2024)

Between 2022 and 2024, the Agriculture and Farming sector experienced significant realignment in its media spending priorities.

1.1 Television

Television ad spending declined sharply, falling 53 percent in 2024 versus 2022. This shift aligns with the rise of more targeted and measurable media formats, alongside growing digital penetration in semi-urban and rural regions.

1.2 Print

Print spending grew by 33 percent over the same period. With a strong rural audience base and high informational depth, print remains trusted for communicating agricultural knowledge, product usage guidance, and seasonal advisories.

1.3 Radio

Radio saw a 38 percent increase during Jan–Dec 2023 over Jan–Dec 2022. Its relevance stems from its strong reach in rural areas, linguistic localization, and affordability.

Radio retains a strategic place in campaigns targeting farmers and traders in smaller towns, farming belts, and cluster markets.

1.4 Digital

Digital advertising for the Agriculture and Farming sector grew 18 percent in 2024 compared to 2022. The growth was further amplified between 2023 and 2024, driven by penetration of smartphones, rural data affordability, and agri-content platforms that enable targeted outreach.

2. Preferred Media Mix (2022–2024)

By 2024, print emerged as the most preferred medium, capturing approximately two-thirds of total investments.

Other notable changes include:

Print and Digital spends increased 88 percent and 70 percent, respectively, in 2024 vs. 2023.

Television’s share of spending decreased by 30 percent in 2024 vs. 2023.

This shift points to the sector’s appetite for contextual and regional messaging, as well as better visibility and education-driven content formats.

3. Number of Advertisers (2022–2024)

Print registered the highest number of advertisers in 2024, followed by Digital.

Key takeaways:

Television advertiser count declined 26 percent between 2022 and 2024.

Radio advertisers increased by 6 percent over the same period.

Digital advertisers grew 11 percent in 2024 versus 2023.

This growth reflects the expanding base of agri-tech, input manufacturers, irrigation, and farm machinery brands adopting digital outreach.

4. Leading Advertisers by Platform

4.1 Television (2024 & Q1-2025)

In 2024, Insecticides India rose from fifth place to become the top TV advertiser, capturing 16.2 percent of spends.

Top-ten advertisers accounted for 58.5 percent of total television ad spending.

Corteva Agriscience and Maharashtra State Seeds Corporation entered the top-ten list for the first time in 2024.

In Jan–Mar 2025, Corteva Agriscience led the category by share, with more than 50 advertisers active on television.

Exclusive TV advertisers

More than 55 advertisers were TV-exclusive in 2024, a notable increase over 2023.

5. Genres, Time Bands, and TV Advertising Patterns

5.1 Genre Preferences

News dominated TV advertising for the Agriculture & Farming sector in 2024, commanding 80.4 percent of total ad volumes. General Entertainment Channels followed with a 13.8 percent share.

This reflects the need to reach decision-makers watching news during mornings and prime time.

5.2 Time Bands

Prime Time (18:00–22:59) delivered the highest ad volumes, followed by early morning and morning time bands (6:00–11:59).

This shows the importance of day-start and evening viewing cycles for rural and farming audiences.

5.3 Monthly Trends

Peak television advertising ran from May to November in 2024, aligning with crop cycles, monsoon-driven demand, and festive periods.

5.4 Day-wise Trends

Agriculture sector TV advertising was consistently active across all days.

5.5 Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity participation was relatively low, at 11.9 percent of total ad duration. Ajay Devgan was the most visible endorser.

6. Print Media

6.1 Top Advertisers (2024 & Q1-2025)

IFFCO remained the top print advertiser in 2024, holding 65.6 percent share and maintaining its leadership position from 2023.

Other entrants to the top-ten list included Basant Agro Tech, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, UPL, Kartar Agro Industries, and Shiv Ganga Haibridge.

The top ten advertisers contributed 78.1 percent of total print spending.

In Jan–Mar 2025, Indian Potash led print advertising with a share of 15.5 percent. More than 210 advertisers participated during the period.

Exclusive Print Advertisers

More than 260 advertisers were exclusively active in print during 2024.

6.2 Regional Print Preferences

North Zone led the market with 35.7 percent share.

South Zone followed with 30.8 percent.

West and East completed the distribution.

Preferred Publications

Dainik Bhaskar dominated in both the North and East.

Eenadu led in the South.

Lokmat featured strongest in the West.

These choices align with linguistic clusters and farming communities.

6.3 Formats and Placement

Nearly all print ads (99.4 percent) were colored. Front-page placements dominated with 74.3 percent share, reflecting the need for high visibility in competitive crop-season messaging.

6.4 Promotions

Only 1.4 percent of print ad spending went to promotional messaging.

Contest promotions accounted for 79.5 percent of promotional ad spend.

6.5 Monthly Cycles

Print activity peaked from October to December 2024.

6.6 Daywise Print Activity

Higher ad volumes were recorded on Mondays and Thursdays.

7. Radio Advertising

7.1 Top Advertisers (2024 & Q1-2025)

Tirth Agro Technology led radio spends in 2024 with a 30 percent share.

Top performers such as VST Tillers & Tractors and Kribhco gained rank over 2023.

New entrants included Krishi Discs & Knives India and Statue Ayurvedic Products.

Radio’s top ten advertisers commanded more than 95 percent of all radio investments during the year.

In Q1-2025, Tirth Agro Technology dominated with 71.7 percent of ad spends.

Exclusive Radio Advertisers

Only nine advertisers were exclusively active on Radio in 2024.

7.2 Regional Radio Distribution

The West Zone dominated with 59.1 percent share, followed by the South Zone at 16.9 percent.

7.3 Monthly Trends

Radio activity peaked between January and March 2024.

7.4 Day-wise Activity

Campaigns ran consistently across all days of the week.

7.5 Preferred Platforms

MyFM ranked as the top station, followed by Radio One.

8. Digital Advertising

8.1 Top Advertisers (2024 & Q1-2025)

Jain Irrigation System led digital ad spends in 2024 with a 25.2 percent share.

Four new advertisers entered the top-ten list in 2024.

The top ten advertisers contributed 74.2 percent of total digital investment.

In Q1-2025, Healthunbox led digital with 20.2 percent share. More than 130 advertisers were active on digital during the period.

Exclusive Digital Advertisers

More than 190 advertisers were digital-exclusive in 2024.

8.2 Platform Preferences

Facebook led publisher share at 60.6 percent, followed by X.com at 28 percent.

8.3 Display vs Video

Display dominated with 95.4 percent of digital ad volumes in 2024.

8.4 Monthly & Daywise Patterns

Digital activity peaked between June and August 2024.

Campaigns ran evenly across Sundays and weekdays.

9. Strategic Implications for Marketers

Prioritize Print + Digital Mix
With dominance in print and rapid growth in digital, the strongest media combination is education-driven print plus precision digital.

Build a Rural Funnel
Creating content in regional languages, optimizing for mobile, and running season-based digital campaigns are essential.

Localize Media Buying
Zones and publication preferences show clear micro-market clusters that must be honored for effectiveness.

Use Television Selectively
Limit TV to high-affinity programs and seasonal windows. News programming offers maximum agricultural buyer engagement.

Expand Regional Radio
Radio offers affordability and frequency, especially in West and South zones.

Leverage Seasonal Cycles
Plan spending around cropping calendars, monsoons, and agricultural exhibitions.

Emphasize Education
Technical messaging, instructional product use, and agronomic benefits often outperform celebrity-based messaging.

10. How Excellent Publicity Can Help

Excellent Publicity partners with agriculture and agri-tech brands to build results-focused media strategy.

The agency’s offerings include:

TV, print, radio, and digital planning and buying

Influencer and social-media campaigns

Rural activation and market expansion

Media negotiation, reporting, and optimization

Creative development and content production

With 50,000 plus vendor tie-ups, 7 offices across India and the UAE, and experience from more than 1.5 lakh campaigns, Excellent Publicity can help brands scale across the country, from metros to deep rural.

If you are planning your next Agriculture or Farming sector campaign, Excellent Publicity can help create a targeted, seasonal, and regional strategy backed by real campaign data.

To get started, contact us at:
https://www.excellentpublicity.com/