Indore

September 16, 2025

C-DAC Pune, in collaboration with IIT Indore, ICAR-NSRI Indore, and ICAR-CIAE Bhopal, successfully concluded the two-day AgriConnect Workshop at IIT Indore on September 15th- 16th, 2025. Supported by MeitY and the Department of Science & Technology, Madhya Pradesh, the workshop brought together farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), policymakers, researchers, NGOs, and industry leaders on a single platform to co-develop scalable AgriTech solutions.

The event was inaugurated on Sept 15th with the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, graced by Shri. K. K. Singh, Joint Secretary, MeitY as Guest of Honor. He emphasized the importance of digital innovation in empowering marginal farmers.

Prof. Aruna Tiwari, Principal Investigator of AgriHub, delivered the welcome address and formally inaugurated the workshop. Distinguished guests, including Shri. Ravi Ranjan Singh - Director, Digital Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Prof. Suhas Joshi - Director, IIT Indore, Smt. Lakshmi Panat - Scientist G, C-DAC Pune, and Dr. Kunwar Harendra Singh - Director, ICAR-NSRI Indore, shared valuable insights on digital infrastructure, knowledge gaps, last-mile technology delivery, and inclusive agricultural growth.

During the inaugural session, Shri. Ravi Ranjan Singh highlighted the ministry's flagship Agri Stack initiative, a Digital Public Infrastructure project designed to create a unified digital ecosystem for farmers. Dr. Kunwar Harendra Singh underlined the existing knowledge gaps across the agricultural value chain, from seed potential to market access, and emphasized the importance of stronger collaborations between FPOs, NGOs, and public-private partnerships. Smt. Lakshmi Panat, representing C-DAC Pune, stressed the need to leverage virtual platforms for showcasing technological solutions, helping avoid "reinvention of the wheel" and enabling continuous collaboration. Prof. Suhas Joshi, Director of IIT Indore, commended the perseverance behind the AgriHub initiative and called for ensuring that innovations effectively reach the last mile and the last farmer in the field.

As part of the technology demonstrations, Shri. Amit Saxena - Scientist F, C-DAC Pune showcased the capabilities of the Technology Centre at AgriHub, highlighting its role in enabling advanced computing platforms, AI/ML tools for precision agriculture and last-mile delivery of technology solutions.

The keynote talk on the opening day was delivered by Dr. Vinay Kulkarni, Adjunct Professor, IIT Bombay, who set the stage for the technical sessions. The first session, themed Genomic and Phenomics-based Crop Improvement, featured an expert talk by Dr. Ganga Jeena - MPIPZ, Germany, followed by innovation showcases by Dr. Milind Ratnaparkhe- ICAR-NSRI, Indore, Dr. Vikas Chauhan - NIT Jalandhar, and Dr. Supriya Ratnaparkhe- Indore Biotech. The industry perspective was provided by Nucleome Informatics, Hyderabad, after which a roundtable discussion, moderated by Dr. Milind Ratnaparkhe and co-moderated by Dr. Rajesh Dwivedi, brought FPOs, NGOs, and industry voices together.

The second session, focused on Precision Agriculture, included an expert talk by Dr. Anil Rai - ADG ICT, ICAR, MoAFW, New Delhi. Innovations presented included AI/ML techniques for groundwater management by Dr. Suraj Bhat - MITE, Mangalore, a portable photodynamic inactivation kit by Dr. Debayan Sarkar - IIT Indore, and agri-specific sensor systems by Dr. M. Karthikeyan - CSIR-NCL, Pune. Industry insights were shared by Dr. Rashmi Saxena - CEO, Udyogini, Kolkata and Cdr. Varun Agrawal (Retd.), Co-Founder & COO, MVF Indore, culminating in a roundtable moderated by Dr. Shashi Rawat - ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal.

Day 2 of the workshop opened with the theme Drone Application and Image Analysis. Dr. Satya Prakash - ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal delivered the expert talk, followed by technology demonstrations by Dr. Savita Kolhe - ICAR-NSRI, Indore, Dr. Manish Kumar - ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal, and Dr. Rajesh Dwivedi - IIIT Ranchi. Dr. Suresh Motwani - General Manager, Solidaridad Network, Bhopal shared the industry perspective before an engaging roundtable session moderated by Prof. Pavan Kumar Kankar.

The final session, themed AI-based Disease and Pest Diagnosis, began with expert talks by Dr. Purnima Sharma - MD, BCIL, New Delhi and Dr. Sanjeev Kumar - ICAR-IASRI, New Delhi. This was followed by innovation showcases from Dr. Vaibhav Kumar - IISER Bhopal and Dr. Milind Ratnaparkhe - ICAR-NSRI, Indore. Industry leaders Smt. Sheetal Warke - HiMedia Laboratories, Mumbai and Shri. Yogesh Dwivedi - CEO, Madhya Bharat Consortium of FPOs, Bhopal provided valuable perspectives on digital transformation and FPO engagement. The concluding roundtable discussion was moderated by Shri. Amit Saxena, C-DAC Pune.

In her concluding remarks, Prof. Aruna Tiwari - PI, AgriHub urged all stakeholders to continue using the AgriHub platform as a bridge between innovators and farmers, ensuring that solutions do not remain confined to research labs but reach the "last mile and the last farmer."

The workshop closed with a vote of thanks, marking two days of intensive knowledge exchange, collaboration, and a shared commitment to making AgriHub a replicable national model for agricultural innovation and farmer-centric digital transformation.