The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has announced the launch of AgriNext, a new initiative designed to integrate the state’s farming community into the startup ecosystem.
According to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Office, the project will benefit farmers, startups, and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) alike. AgriNext is a part of the Kerala Climate Resilient Agri Value Chain Modernisation Project (KERA)—a flagship program led by the Department of Agriculture, supported by the World Bank.
Officials stated that the objective of the initiative is to stimulate growth in Kerala’s agricultural sector while promoting climate-resilient and sustainable farming practices.
“Farmers, FPOs, agricultural experts, and entrepreneurs can identify key problems in the agriculture sector and share them with startups,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Moreover, the AgriNext platform will actively encourage startups to develop innovative solutions, while also enabling them to collaborate with research institutions, agricultural universities, and other organizations.
The government noted that only startups with unique ideas or technologies targeting farming-related problems can apply. These technologies should deliver value not only to farmers but also to entrepreneurs engaged in value-added agricultural products.
Startups can submit their applications through the KSUM online portal, and the KSUM Project Implementation Unit will incubate the selected ones, providing each with a grant of ₹25 lakh.
The startup component of KERA, which includes the creation of an Agri-Tech Incubation Facility in collaboration with KSUM, forms a crucial part of the project. Over the next five years, the program aims to identify 150 major agricultural challenges and enable startups to design innovative technologies, products, and solutions to address them.
“This initiative is expected to directly benefit around 40,000 farmers in Kerala,” the CMO added.
