Press - Technology can help in improving productivity especially in agriculture sector in India

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Technology can help in improving productivity especially in agriculture sector in India

This was concluded in a session on Argo-Economy ICT at Global Partnership Summit being held in the capital from December 11-14.

Vijay Sardana, Agri Business and Food Security Expert said it is a huge opportunity, but agriculture is a not a software which can be installed everywhere and it's done. It has to be specific to a local area/crop or a town. One cannot generalize as climatic situations are different across different regions.

He said for an affordable food security, inputs should be minimum while output should be maximum. His company offers annual maintenance services for farming area where a farmer doesn't need to maintain or buy machinery, all work is outsourced to the firm which lessens their cost and improves productivity.

Knowledge has achieved what it was supposed to till now, it is time for ICT and other technologies to be implemented in agriculture sector and move ahead, he said.

Teruhide Sato, founder and managing director, Beenext said India is becoming a data rich country given the rapid increase in mobile penetration.

It used to be IT (information technology) but now it is Artificial intelligence days which is nothing but DT (data technology).

We have invested in about 40 start ups in India for last five years which are focussed on solving local issues especially in agriculture sector, Sato said.

Sam Yamdagni, chairman and CEO Y Cube Holdings also talked about huge potential which the Indian market holds for bringing new technologies for increasing the farm yield. One has to implement modern technology for better productivity.

Mitsuru Izumo, CEO, Euglena, talked about his venture where its products can help countries in solving malnourishment. It has tied up with Bangladesh's Grameen to offer its products to school children there.

Euglena is formed from microalgae, a kind of a seed/plant with animal characteristics. It is a rich source of proteins, vitamins and dietary fibre. It is a great solution for malnutrition programs across many countries and is being developed at customised ponds using new technologies, Izumo said.