Agri & Food Technologies

Agri & Food Technologies encompasses the entire agri-food value chain from farm inputs, irrigation and water management to crop production, automation, harvesting, post-harvest management, processing, storage, logistics and market access. The theme welcomes TRL 3–9 innovations with strong potential for field validation, technology demonstration, commercial adoption and large-scale deployment.  

The thematic focus is closely aligned with India’s evolving agricultural and food-processing priorities, including the Digital Agriculture Mission and AgriStack, improved water-use efficiency through PMKSY–Per Drop More Crop, strengthening of food-processing enterprises under PMFME and the PLI Scheme for Food Processing, and the NITI Aayog 2025 roadmap for frontier-technology-driven agricultural transformation. Emphasis will be placed on solutions that are affordable, scalable, field-ready and adaptable to India’s diverse agro-climatic conditions. Proposed innovations should demonstrate clear potential to enhance farmer incomes and productivity, optimize water and resource utilization, minimize post-harvest losses, strengthen food-processing capabilities, improve value addition, and build resilient agricultural supply chains. In doing so, the theme seeks to advance the broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by accelerating the transition from promising research and emerging technologies to practical, market-oriented solutions. 

The theme further aims to foster meaningful collaboration among research and academic institutions, technology developers, industry, start-ups, policymakers and the farming community, creating stronger pathways for technology translation, adoption and scale. Collectively, these efforts are intended to build a technology-enabled, sustainable, competitive and resilient agri-food ecosystem capable of addressing emerging challenges while creating new opportunities across the agricultural value chain.