Bhubaneswar: Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru-based Hydenmet Solutions Private Limited for taking up joint programs to generate knowledge in agriculture and enable farmers to get affordable access to cutting edge precision farming solutions.
The major aim of the collaboration is to generate knowledge in effective monitoring of various crops from seeding to harvest, compare the real-time condition of crops with documented intelligence to derive the most accurate advisory for managing water stress, nutrition stress, pests, diseases, insect and fungus attacks and ensure maximum yield of good quality produce.
To achieve this objective, several research project proposals along with outreach activities including seminars and workshops would be conducted with clear goals, approach, deliverables, timelines and financial inputs to be jointly worked out between the two parties.
The MoU was signed by SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda and Bhaskaran Rangarajan, Chief Executive Officer of Hydenmet Solutions.
As per the MoU, Hydenmet Solutions will install one automatic weather station and any other crop or soil Internet of Things (IoT) sensor as required in SOA’s farm and roll out Hydenmet Solution’s Smart Technology-Based Agriculture Enabler (STAGE) platform to monitor the same. It will also provide the necessary technical manpower and facilities at its manufacturing plants for conducting trials relevant to the identified projects.
Besides, experts from Hydenmet Solutions shall facilitate visits of faculty and students of SOA to its manufacturing plants in connection with the identified projects and participate in the training of students.
Both parties will also work for the improvement of the farming community of the state in association with the Farmer Producers’ Organisation (FPO).
Girija Patel, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Hydenmet Solutions coordinated the signing of the MoU.
Jeevan Sangram Dash, Chief Operating Officer of Hydenmet Solutions and Prof. Santosh Kumar Rout, Dean of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, SOA’s Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. R.K. Panda, Director, SOA’s Centre for Climate Smart Agriculture and Pramod Kumar Panda, SOA’s Chief Administrative Officer, were present during the signing of the MoU.