Agri-tech has improved productivity and post-harvest management, experts say in webinar

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Advances in agricultural technology have made huge inroads into the agricultural sector, increasing production and creating innovative solutions to the challenges of modern farming, experts said in a webinar.

They were speaking on the topic ‘Agricultural Technology Revolution’ jointly organized by SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) and The Hindu as part of their Future Career Conversations series.

Devinder Dhingra, Principal Scientist (Process Engineering), Agricultural Engineering Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said that 47% of agricultural work was now mechanized and that introduction of scientific methods led to overproduction, which led to export of agricultural produce. While the mechanization of harvesting horticultural crops continued to be a challenge, the harvesting of field crops was largely mechanized and farmers used precision equipment to do so.

“Drones are actively used for crop management and pesticide spraying,” said Dr. Dhingra and added that crop storage mechanisms have also undergone tremendous changes.

Poorna Pushkala, CEO of Samunnati Foundation, said the sector has been boosted by several decentralized energy systems and various innovations in advertising technology. “We now have highly customized solutions for climate and geographic conditions. There are also several post-harvest technologies on the market created by students or professionals with less than five years of experience,” she noted. Anyone with a passion for solving problems innovatively would have a place in agriculture, she added.

Leenus Jesu Martin M., Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRMIST, said that agriculture, originally a separate discipline, is now a multi-disciplinary field where mechanical, automation and computer engineers all play a major role in the mechanization process. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning,” he said, “have formed the basis of smart agriculture, and the Internet of Things has played a role in connecting different agricultural jobs.”

Jawaharlal M., Dean, SRM College of Agriculture Sciences, said almost all branches of engineering and technology could be linked to agriculture. While collective and cooperative farming systems benefit workers, high-value crops could be produced in small volume if technology was linked to agriculture, he added.

AM Jigeesh, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu moderated the webinar which is available below:

Published – 23 May 2026 22:30 IST