AGMitra Technologies (P) Limited, based in Mohali, was founded by two Plaksha University professors. It is one of four startups in the nation to receive a Rs 20 lakh product development grant from the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an independent organization of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, to develop solutions for the expansion of sugarcane harvest.
Agmitra is an AI-based firm developed by Dr. Shashank Tamaskar, an associate professor, and Dr. Amruta R. Behera, an assistant professor, and is incubated at Plaksha University in Mohali. The two are employed by the university’s Center for Digital Agriculture. For the farmers and sugar business, the startup is working on developing solutions for precision agriculture.
India is both the world’s greatest producer and user of sugar. Sugarcane is used to create about 60% of all sugar. With a turnover of more than Rs 80,000 crore per year, this industry is the second largest in the agricultural sector, behind textiles.
“Crop yield and sucrose content are two important factors that sugarcane farmers and the sugar industry are worried about. The amount of fertilizer and water available, for example, has an impact on sugarcane crop yield. It is challenging to anticipate the ideal harvest period because the peak sucrose concentration in sugarcane depends on several factors, including microclimate, plant physiology, and soil moisture characteristics, according to Dr. Tamaskar.
We are using artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing from drones and satellites, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to create a decision-support system that enables farmers to forecast the best time to harvest crops, crop output, and sucrose content. Farmers and the sugar sector would be able to make wise harvest decisions and increase the value of their products thanks to this, he continued.
Other start-ups that received awards include Satyukt Analytics (P) Ltd, GB Pant University of Agriculture, and AGAutomate (P) Limited, all of which are situated in Pune (Bengaluru). Bypassing the second round of the Smart Farm Grant Competition (SFGC) Program, the four businesses received Rs 20 lakh each.
The program was started to develop cutting-edge sugarcane harvesting techniques. With 474 submissions, it has gotten an astounding reaction. The difficulty lies in predicting the ideal time for harvest, calculating sugar content, locating mature plots, and providing insights in an understandable style.
The goal of the competition was to offer a digital solution for the best sugarcane harvest. The ideation stage was the first stage of the SFGC program, which began on May 9, 2022. In it, we gave Rs 5 lakh to each of the ten entrepreneurs that made the shortlist so they could create goods for the best sugarcane crop. At the second stage of product development, four of these were selected today by a jury and awarded Rs 20 lakh each during a ceremony, according to Arvind Kumar, DG, STPI.
