In order to promote potential technology solutions for enhancing farm mechanisation with special emphasis on women friendly equipment, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) has planned a hackathon named “Kritagya”. Students, faculties, innovators and entrepreneurs from any university or technical institution across the country can apply and participate in the event in the form of a group.
Shedding light on the hackathon, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, said that in one group maximum four participants can compete, with not more than one faculty and or more than one innovator or entrepreneur. Participating students can collaborate with local start-ups, students from technology institutes, and can win Rs. 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh as first, second and third prize respectively. The registration for event has already been started from September 15, 2020.
Dr Mohapatra said that the development and promotion of women friendly equipment through innovative technology solutions and right collaborations with stakeholders would play an important role in enhancing the farm productivity and profitability.
Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has also stressed upon the need of enhancing the innovation in farm mechanisation in several meetings and provided the overall guidance in organising this event.
Dr. RC Agrawal, Deputy Director General, ICAR and National Director, National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) said that this event would give an opportunity to the students, faculties, entrepreneurs, innovators and other stakeholders to showcase their innovative approaches and technology solutions to promote farm mechanisation in India. The initiative undertaken by NAHEP along with Agricultural Engineering Division of ICAR would also help in enhancing the learning capabilities, innovations and disruptive solutions, employability and entrepreneurial drive in farm mechanisation sector. Besides, the event will also help in taking forward the vision of high-quality higher education with equity and inclusion as envisaged in NEP-2020.
He also said that in view of increasing women participation in the field operations mainly due to migration of men for better prospects in non-farm opportunities, ICAR had felt it necessary to organise this event with the overall aim to enhance automation and mechanisation to increase the farm productivity and profitability and also to reduce the drudgery.
ICAR commenced NAHEP, a Government of India and World Bank project, in November 2017 with the overall objective to support the National Agricultural Research and Education System in providing more relevant and better quality education to the students.