Six agri-tech startups selected under Karnataka-backed innovation programme to advance precision farming, climate resilience and sustainable agriculture solutions

The Govt. Of Karnataka has announced the winners from the 3rd call of the C-CAMP Agriculture Grand Challenges innovation programme today, in the presence of of Priyank Kharge, Minister for Electronics, IT/BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Govt. of Karnataka, Dr. Manjula N., IAS, Secretary, Dept of E, IT and BT and S&T, Govt. of Karnataka, Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, Director, Dept of E, IT and BT; Managing Director, KITS, Govt of Karnataka and Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP Director and CEO.

The C-CAMP Agriculture Grand Challenges Innovations Programme, supported by the Govt. of Karnataka, has selected 6 startup winners which include — Biosouk Innovations Private Limited, Contrivation Labs Pvt. Ltd., Earthworks Biomat Private Limited, Farms2fork Technologies Private Limited, Rootskart Agritech Private Limited and, Vapac Bioplastics Private Limited. The startups have received investment support including further ecosytem support.

The Agriculture Grand Challenges (AGC) programme is a flagship initiative by the Agri Centre of Excellence at C-CAMP, supported by the Govt. of Karnataka was launched in 2021. The previous two editions of this programme have already identified 9 start-ups to address gaps in Indian agriculture through cutting-edge science and innovation. The 3rd call whose winners were announced today, was launched in February 2025, with the support of the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society, (KITS), the Department of IT, BT & S&T and the Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Karnataka also in presence of Kharge and Minister of Agriculture, N. Chaluvarayaswamy.

On the Agriculture Grand Challenges winners announcement, Kharge mentioned in his post on X, the social media platform, “interacted with the winners of the 3rd edition of the GoK supported Agri Grand Challenges, who are building solutions across precision farming, climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. Karnataka stands at the forefront of biotechnology and with focused bio-entrepreneurship programmes we are ensuring cutting-edge innovations translate into solutions that change lives and create real impact.”

C-CAMP Director-CEO Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed said, “I am excited to be announcing the third cohort of startup winners of the C-CAMP Agriculture Grand Challenges Innovations Programme. They are solving some of the most pressing issues plaguing Karnataka and India’s farmers based on carefully curated and vetted problem statements that identified challenges on the ground. This now brings the number of real-world solutions to real-world problems supported by C-CAMP and Govt of Karnataka to 15. This has been a phenomenally gratifying effort knowing that these earmarked technologies can make real difference to lives, economies and food security across India.”