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Home2021 (Page 142)
AgroPolicy, Agrotech, IT

Agri India Hackathon is the largest virtual gathering to create dialogues and accelerate innovations.  

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Virtual Agri-hackathon 2020 organised by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in association with IARI, Pusa, New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Narendra Singh Tomar said that Agri India Hackathon is the largest virtual gathering to create dialogues and accelerate innovations.

The 2-month long event is the first of its kind & the largest virtual event in the history of Indian agriculture. It will bring together the most important stakeholders from industry & government alongside India’s young bright minds, creative start-ups and smart innovators who will build new, fast and frugal solutions to tackle the big questions we’re facing today. 

With the launch, the application of the hackathon was made live on MyGov.in and will remain open till 20 January, 2021. The hackathon will happen in 3 elimination rounds and the final 24 winners will get a cash prize of RS 1, 00,000 along with incubation support, tech & business mentoring and various other benefits. The hackathon will accept innovations & ideas on farm mechanization, precision agriculture, supply chain & food technology, waste to wealth, green energy, etc.

Following the launch, Agri India Hackathon will also host speaker sessions called Agri India Meets spread across 2 months with more than 40 speakers who will discuss the present & future of agriculture.

Agri India Hackathon is the largest virtual

Agrotech, North America

Draganfly Drone will support evidence-based crop, health, planning and spatial data collection. 

 

 

 

The US Department of Agriculture has selected the use of the Draganfly Commander drones to do phenotyping and other related data collection and analysis.

The Draganfly Commander Ag-Pro model is a turn-key UAV package providing extended flight times, high level of data resolutions and accuracy and the utmost data security.

Draganfly drones are important within the agriculture industry as they support evidence-based crop, health, planning and spatial data collection. These tools and technologies can provide valuable data that can then be used to influence policies and decisions.

 “The growing use of UAVs within the US Department of Agriculture for diverse applications are fuelling the need for our drones,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly. “Draganfly is incredibly honoured to be working with the Department of Agriculture and looking forward to serving their department on future projects.”

Draganfly is the oldest commercial drone manufacturer in North America and is credited as the world’s first small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) to save a first human life in a search and rescue operation and this drone is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Draganfly Drone will support evidence-based crop, health,

Poultry, R&D

Company  has developed AI-driven software that controls customized incubation cells which affect the sex development process in chicken embryos.  

 Empire State Development and Cornell University has announced that animal science company Soos Technology of Kidron, Israel was named as the $1 million grand prize winner of round two of Grow-NY, a global food and agriculture business competition. The unprecedented competition—which focuses on strengthening the food and agriculture innovation cluster within the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions of New York state—attracted more than 260 applicants worldwide this year and the top 20 finalists competed in a virtual pitch competition.

Soos Technology has developed AI-driven software that controls customized incubation cells that affect the sex development process in chicken embryos resulting in more functional female chickens that lay eggs. The patented technology mitigates the controversial practice of male-chick culling by transforming male chickens into egg-laying females using high-tech soundwaves and vibration—a non-invasive and nonchemical solution.

Soos Technology CEO Yael Alter said, “With our Grow-NY prize money, we plan to create over twenty high-paying research and engineering jobs in the next two years, by building the NY Poultry Research Hub, which will connect academic research with poultry startups and corporates, to commercialize validated research. We are thrilled to put down roots in the Grow-NY region.”

Company  has developed AI-driven software that controls

Finance, Start ups

 The company will invest on customer acquisition and building the full-stack platform for the farmers 

Indore-based Agri-tech startup Gramophone has announced that it has raised Rs 25 crore from investors, including Siana Capital, and will use the funds for customer acquisition and strengthen its platform.

The funding round led by Siana Capital.Info Edge, Asha Impact and Better Capital, all existing investors, have also participated in this round. With this funding, Gramophone has raised Rs 55 crore so far.

Founded in 2016 by IIT & IIM Ahmedabad graduates Tauseef Ahmad Khan, Nishant Vats Mahatre, Harshit Gupta and Ashish Rajan Singh, Gramophone said it has helped more than 550,000 farmers increase their income based on improved farming practices.

The platform acts as a doctor and a pharmacy to farmers, who get access to a wide range of inputs and implements, including seeds, fertilisers, nutrients, pesticides, and farming equipment.

While commenting on latest funding, Tauseef Khan, Co-Founder & CEO, Gramophone said, “We have seen strong farmer adoption with a Year to Year 15-20 per cent increase in the wallet share of the customers.”

“We will invest on customer acquisition and building the full-stack platform for the farmers to provide holistic solution for maximising farmer’s income by enhancing expertise around agronomic intelligence for input business and building capabilities to provide market linkages and access to credit to the farmers,” he added.

 The company will invest on customer acquisition

North America

Miraflora’s practices had to meet the strict standards included in the organic certification process

Driven to help people be their best naturally through the unique properties of the hemp plant, Miraflora has received USDA Organic Certification for its 160-acre farm in Boulder County, Colo.

To earn USDA certification, Miraflora’s practices had to meet the strict standards included in the organic certification process, including using cultural and biological processes that support the cycling of on-farm resources; promoting ecological balance; and conserving biodiversity. Although this is the first time the farm has earned USDA Organic Certification, it has been farmed organically for over 100 years.

Miraflora’s products are traceable from plant to product, beginning with organic Colorado-grown hemp cultivated in nutrient-rich soil with the purest water fresh from the Rocky Mountains. The Miraflora farm also partners with Red Granite Ranch, Colorado’s largest alpaca ranch, to manage and raise the alpaca that provide the organic fertilizer that’s worked into the soil. Alpaca manure has long been prized as a sustainable fertilizer by gardeners and farmers due to its multitude of benefits.

Miraflora’s top-selling hemp infusion beverage can be found in over 200 locations in Los Angeles and New York City.

Miraflora’s practices had to meet the strict