‘Onion prices bring tears to customers,’ reads a headline of a prominent daily in India. Just a few months later, another headline reads, ​‘Onions brings tears, this time to farmers. These fluctuations highlight the unpredictable supply-demand chain in agriculture— one of the challenges that the BeST (Bengaluru Science and Technology) cluster seeks to address under its agritech initiative. ​“The agriculture sector comprises 50% of the Indian population but contributes to only 15% of India’s GDP due to issues such as low productivity, demand-supply gap and high input costs. We are using a science and technology led approach to tackle these issues ”, explains Ravi Tennety, head of the BeST cluster. 

The BeST cluster is one of the nation-wide Science and Technology clusters established under the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. The agritech initiative aims at development, deployment and last-mile delivery of agricultural technologies through its BeST Agritech Innovation Network, with representatives from various stakeholders across the agritech value chain.

From phones to drones — Precision agriculture technologies 

Agricultural yield is greatly influenced by factors such as light, temperature, humidity, soil characteristics, and so on. Precision agriculture is a modern farming management concept that uses information- and technology-based systems to monitor and manage field variability, enabling farmers to apply inputs like water, fertilisers, and pesticides more accurately and efficiently. To develop precision agriculture technologies, the BeST cluster has brought together the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) and the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) and National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR).

Seshayee Sreeman, a professor at UAS Bengaluru and a theme lead of BeST’s precision agriculture program, is developing a machine-learning tool to predict plant diseases using images. Our system can work with images from a simple cell phone camera or even drone footage captured weekly over entire villages,” Sreeman explains. However, the current study focuses primarily on nutrient stress. Plants face other stressors, such as drought, toxicity, and pests, which may present similar symptoms. Future research aims to differentiate between these various stress factors for a more comprehensive approach to plant health management.

Another similar technology, this one for precision irrigation, could potentially halve water usage in water-intensive crops like rice, which typically requires up to 4,000 litres of water per kilogram produced. UAS Bengaluru is also collaborating with the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc Bangalore to advise farmers on irrigation based on weather predictions. This weather-based irrigation advisory system represents another step towards more efficient resource use in agriculture. ​“For instance, if there’s a rain prediction, there would be no need to water the crop,” explains Sreeman. 

Bio-based technologies to control crop infestation

Another issue faced by farmers is pest infestation of crops. One of the key projects aimed at increasing crop yield is pest control using biological methods. Markandeya Gorantla from ATGC Biotech is spearheading efforts to combat increasing pest populations caused by global warming using semiochemicals. Semiochemicals are chemical substances that animals, including insect pests, use to communicate with each other. 

ATGC Biotech specialises in insect behavioural modifiers for crop protection. They use semiochemicals like sex pheromones, aggregation pheromones, and attractants to modify insect behaviour. The main strategy involves using female insect pheromones to confuse males and disrupt mating behaviours, thereby suppressing insect populations. By strategically spraying these sex hormones, male pests are lured away from females, effectively halting reproduction. This approach is particularly useful in managing insect epidemics, such as locust infestations, which have become more problematic due to climate change. ​“Climate change has increased the breeding cycles of insects,” explains Gorantla. 

With a one-degree increase in temperature, their reproduction rates have surged to the point where none of the existing insecticides are effective anymore.

This technology has been implemented in various countries for different pests, including pink bollworm management in the USA and grapevine moth control in Argentina. ​“In India, we’ve introduced solutions for brinjal shoot borer and fruit borer, pests for which no effective solutions currently exists,” Gorantla adds. 

These crops can lose up to 80% of their harvest to pests, but our technology offers a sustainable solution.

Further, to enable future deployment through government and industry partners, the BeST cluster has also compiled a compendium of various agriculture technologies. . 

Last-mile delivery

To further facilitate last-mile delivery, the BeST cluster is also collaborating with the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore and not-for-profits, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra Knowledge Networks. The protected farming infrastructure in IIHR enable year-round cultivation of high-value crops by precisely regulating temperature, humidity, and light conditions, regardless of external weather patterns. This technology could be particularly valuable in regions with extreme or unpredictable weather conditions. The framework allows not only to validate technologies, but also ensures procurement of produce and distribution through FPOs. 

Even after reducing input costs and increasing crop yield, farmers and consumers are plagued by the fluctuating demand-supply in agricultural produce. To address this, the initiative also includes a project that gathers agricultural market data to predict supply and demand patterns to advise farmers on optimal crop selection and markets to sell their produce.

Despite the potential benefits, a major hurdle is convincing farmers to adopt these new technologies. Farmers may be skeptical about watering their crops only half as often or using only a quarter of the pesticides they typically use. Sreeman believes that demonstration is key. He suggests first pitching the idea to ​‘model’ farmers in each village —those who are more open to trying new technologies. Their success could then inspire wider adoption among other farmers. 

Given the agricultural sector’s massive market size and its critical role in the Indian economy, the potential impact of these innovations is substantial. 

If successful, these initiatives could not only transform the lives of millions of farmers but also contribute significantly to India’s economic growth and food security.