Strategic collaboration to combine ICAR’s research ecosystem with AgroStar’s digital farmer network and accelerate technology-led, climate-smart agriculture in India

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AgroStar to accelerate the adoption of scientific farming, AI-led advisory systems and precision agriculture technologies across India’s farming ecosystem.

The collaboration brings together one of the world’s largest public agricultural research systems and one of India’s fastest-growing farmer-focused AgTech platforms in a move aimed at improving productivity, strengthening sustainability and enhancing farmer profitability.

The programme was chaired by Dr. M. L. Jaat, Director General of ICAR and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE). The MoU was signed by Rajbir Singh on behalf of ICAR at the Pusa campus in New Delhi.

Under the partnership, ICAR and AgroStar will jointly work on technical knowledge transfer, scientific diagnostics, farmer advisory systems, field trials, capacity-building programmes and commercialisation of advanced crop technologies, including improved crop varieties, biological inputs and microbial innovations for sustainable agriculture.

The initiative seeks to combine ICAR’s expansive network of research institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) with AgroStar’s digital farmer engagement platform and on-ground advisory ecosystem. The collaboration is expected to support faster dissemination of scientific farming practices and improve access to precision agriculture tools at the grassroots level.

Farmers participating in the programme will gain access to real-time agronomic advisory services, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), satellite and geo-spatial intelligence, AI-driven predictive crop insights and precision farming techniques. The partnership will also focus on improving nutrient management, pest and disease control, crop planning and soil health monitoring.

The companies said the initiative would leverage AgroStar’s large-scale Agri Advisory Centre alongside ICAR scientists and KVK experts to deliver field diagnostics, demonstrations, training workshops and technology adoption programmes for farmers across multiple geographies.

“This partnership is a significant step towards enabling scientific agriculture practices for millions of Indian farmers,” said Devraj Arya. “By bringing together ICAR’s research depth and AgroStar’s digital reach and farmer engagement ecosystem, we aim to deliver scalable, sustainable solutions that improve productivity, soil health and farm profitability — and help farmers win.”

The collaboration aligns with India’s broader push toward technology-led, climate-smart and sustainable agriculture. Stakeholders expect the partnership to contribute to improved crop quality, stronger export competitiveness, higher productivity and long-term rural economic growth through greater adoption of data-driven agricultural practices.