Srinagar, October 05: Calling upon institutions and private-sector stakeholders to extend greater support to women-led start-ups, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday stressed the need for engineering colleges and agricultural universities to actively nurture women to reach positions of technological leadership.
Addressing the 60th Annual Convention of the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE), co-hosted by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor said women-led start-ups in agricultural technology should receive financing and institutional support on an equal footing with other start-ups.
“Women-led start-ups in agricultural technology should receive financing with the same confidence with which any other start-up is provided the necessary support and facilities,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor called for creating laboratories, fellowships and incubation platforms to enable young women engineers and scientists from rural areas to develop their ideas into market-ready products.
Highlighting the important role of women in agriculture, he noted that nearly 64 to 76 per cent of the rural female workforce is engaged in farming and allied activities, often without wages or land ownership. He stressed the need to empower women innovators and ensure greater representation of women in agricultural technology leadership.
LG Sinha congratulated ISAE on completing six decades of service to the nation and commended SKUAST-Kashmir for its pioneering contribution to agricultural education and research.
Highlighting the convention themes—“Women-Led Engineering Innovations in Smart Farming” and “AI and Robotics for Gen-Z Farming”—the Lieutenant Governor said they reflect India’s transition from addressing food security challenges to emerging as a global leader in agriculture.
He said Jammu Kashmir, with its rich agricultural heritage and challenging terrain, provides an appropriate platform for deliberations on the future of farming.
Recalling the contribution of agricultural engineers and scientists to the Green Revolution, LG Sinha said mechanisation and technological innovations had played a key role in increasing agricultural productivity and reducing post-harvest losses. He urged the younger generation to draw inspiration from these achievements while addressing emerging challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and sustainable farming.
The Lieutenant Governor stressed that artificial intelligence and robotics must be developed with affordability and accessibility at their core. He cautioned that new technologies should not remain confined to large landholders but must reach small and marginal farmers, who constitute nearly 86 per cent of India’s farming community.
He advocated development of technologies that can operate through ordinary smartphones in low-bandwidth rural areas and promoted collective ownership models through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
Citing drones, IoT-based sensors and machine-learning models as examples of technologies already transforming agriculture, LG Sinha urged innovators to focus on practical solutions capable of working effectively in real field conditions.
“I urge the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, SKUAST-Kashmir, and every young engineer and innovator to develop tools with affordability and access at their core,” he said, adding that robotic instruments could be leased through FPOs or collectively owned by farming communities.
The Lieutenant Governor said the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) of Jammu Kashmir is a replicable model for other states and expressed confidence that agricultural scientists and engineers across the country would learn from the UT’s experience in precision agriculture and sustainable resource management.
He urged researchers and innovators to measure the success of their work not merely through patents and research papers but by its tangible impact on the lives and incomes of small farmers.
On the occasion, the Lieutenant Governor also felicitated the recipients of various ISAE awards.