Technology Must Reach Farmers’ Fields: CM Fadnavis at Pune Agri Hackathon Awards Ceremony
Pune, 3rd June 2025: In a strong push for agri-tech integration at the grassroots, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis emphasized the critical need to deliver innovative farm technologies directly to farmers. Speaking at the Pune Agri Hackathon Awards Ceremony held at Sinchan Nagar, College of Agriculture, he called for setting up incubation centres in agricultural colleges to commercialize and distribute cutting-edge tools such as AI-powered rovers, automated harvesters, and smart irrigation systems.
“High-tech solutions must move beyond labs and reach the soil. This is how we tackle rising input costs, labour shortages, and climate variability,” said Fadnavis, urging the Agriculture Department to accelerate adoption mechanisms.
Maharashtra to Host Three Clean Plant Centres
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a major boost for Maharashtra under the ₹300 crore Clean Plant Program, with three of the nine new advanced centres to be set up in Pune (grapes), Nagpur (oranges), and Solapur (pomegranates). The initiative aims to supply 8 crore disease-free saplings annually, backed by financial support of ₹3 crore for large nurseries and ₹1.5 crore for medium-scale nurseries.
“Stronger coordination between 16,000 agri-scientists and farmers can lead to a new agricultural revolution,” Chouhan noted.
Government Stresses Tech Deployment, Startup Support
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar underscored the urgency of addressing water scarcity, labour gaps, and input costs through rapid technology deployment. “Pune is well-positioned to lead this transformation. Universities, NGOs, and farmers must work in unison,” he said. Pawar also assured continued government support for startups and innovators through future hackathons.
Other dignitaries present included Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Agriculture Minister Adv. Manikrao Kokate, Horticulture Minister Bharat Gogawale, and senior officials like Principal Secretary Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Agriculture Commissioner Suraj Mandhare, Divisional Commissioner Kavita Dwivedi, and Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi.
Hackathon Highlights
The Pune Agri Hackathon received over 550 applications, from which 125 participants were shortlisted to showcase real-world solutions to farming challenges. Winning teams were awarded for their innovative, scalable ideas. Collector Dudi emphasized that the goal is to bring these technologies to over one lakh farmers and inspire greater youth engagement in agriculture.
With widespread participation from startups, agri-experts, university leaders, and farmers, the event marks a significant step in bridging innovation with field-level application and positioning Maharashtra at the forefront of agri-tech evolution.
