Telangana eyes tech to boost farmers’ earnings

Hyderabad: When farms meet future tech, the harvest gets smarter. That was the mood at the Earth Summit 2025–26 in Hyderabad, where Telangana special chief secretary Jayesh Ranjan said technology could help farmers growing rice, maize and cotton sharply increase their earnings.

Speaking in a fireside chat with IAMAI president Subho Ray, Ranjan said the state had already mapped more than 80 promising technologies that could support farmers at different stages of cultivation. Many of these tools are now being tested on university farms to assess how they perform in real field conditions.

Ranjan spotlighted Hyderabad’s thriving AgriTech scene, noting that the city hosts more than two dozen innovation centres focused on agriculture. He said Telangana had demonstrated how government backing can energise startups by investing heavily in institutions and talent. Nabard, he added, had been a strong partner in nurturing the state’s innovation ecosystem.

He also spoke about his flagship project, Telangana Rising Vision 2047, a 120 page roadmap set for release on December 9 to mark two years of the current state government. The document outlines initiatives designed to support farmers, women and young people while also helping attract private investment.

The Earth Summit, a three city series organised by Nabard and the Internet and Mobile Association of India, concluded its Hyderabad edition at Hitex on November 21. The two day conference attracted more than two thousand delegates, including policymakers, climate tech innovators, digital platforms, financial institutions and energy enterprises from across South, East and North East India.

Supported by several national ministries and the office of the principal scientific adviser, the summit focused on the theme empowering rural innovation for global change. It featured more than eighty speakers, fifty exhibitors, twenty five sessions and a flagship hackathon. The next editions are scheduled to take place in Gandhinagar and Delhi.