About 1,000 participants were present, with over 150 agri-startups presenting solutions and enabling pilot models through direct farmer interactions.

Around 50 memoranda of understanding were signed between farmers, startups, and FPOs to accelerate agri-tech adoption at the grassroots level.

The AgriNext Summit in Kochi, organized by the Kerala Startup Mission, the Agriculture Department, and the World Bank under the KERA project, highlighted that artificial intelligence will increase employment opportunities in agriculture.

Top officials stressed integrating technology to attract investment and address farming challenges, focusing on practical, field-ready solutions.

With the theme Technology to the Fields, Transformation to the Harvest, the event aims to bring lab innovations to farmers, reaching about 1,000 farmers and more than 256 agri-startups.

Exhibits spanned practical food products and advanced agri-tech, including a robotic grafting machine, AI crop monitoring, and banana-fibre leather alternatives.

Other innovations included wildlife deterrents using sound, light, and spark systems, plus digital platforms for weather, soil assessment, AI crop-health monitoring, and precision aerial spraying.

A standout is Altersage’s Cocobot, a coconut-harvesting robot aimed at reducing dependence on skilled climbers, with the prototype due to hit the market within six months.

The summit showcased value-added products like ginger and fruit wines, cassava-based sprays, fish-waste fertilizers, banana-based biodegradable goods, and farmer-focused e-commerce for value-added goods.

Digital initiatives include the Kerala Farmer Confidence Copilot advisory platform and Canopy, an AI tool for real-time yield monitoring, disease detection, and plantation management for coffee growers.

AgriNext seeks to move technologies from labs to farms, addressing the on-farm use gap in AI, cold-chain, and other innovations.

The event aims to modernize farming with startup support and position Kerala as a national model, including plans for 100+ pilot programs and 50+ MoUs between agri-startups and Farmer Producer Organisations.