Karnataka govt, C-CAMP launch third edition of Agriculture Grand Challenges

The Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society, (KITS), the Department of IT, BT & S&T and the Department of Agriculture, Karnataka government, have partnered with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) to support the third edition of its Agriculture Grand Challenge programme under the C-CAMP K-Tech Centre for Agri Innovation.

“Agri Grand Challenge has established itself as a programme that has year-on-year identified and supported deep science solutions that address the root causes of gaps in agriculture. We have now broadened the scope of the call to include other allied sectors too such as dairy, poultry, fisheries etc which all contribute to food security and sustainability,” said Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, Director, CEO, C-CAMP.

“With support from Govt. of Karnataka, we will provide investment funding of up to Rs 50 lakhs and more importantly, help with field trials through our vast network in the agricultural sciences ecosystem,” he added

The Agri Grand Challenge III was launched on February 20 by Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT, BT & Rural Development; N. Chaluvarayaswamy, Minister of Agriculture; Dr Ekroop Caur, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT & BT, Govt of Karnataka; and Dr Ravishankar J. IAS, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Govt of Karnataka.

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This year’s challenge features problem statements relevant to issues such as plastic mulching, pest and disease mitigation in valuable cash crops such as areca nut and sandalwood, farm mechanisation for better scalability, etc.

Startups including Sea6 Energy, String Bio, Capsber Agro, ClimateCrop/Vitacrop, Adis Tech, Loopworm, Ultranutri, Faunatech, Klonec, Satyukt, Kheyti, and Dehaat engaged with ministers to discuss potential collaborations and strategies for on-ground deployment.

(The feature image was updated)