Northern Region S&T Cluster to host Asia-Pacific Summit on Smart & Sustainable Agriculture 

Chandigarh, April 17, 2025: Panjab University–IIT Ropar Regional Accelerator for Holistic Innovation Foundation (PI-RAHI), the Northern Region S&T Cluster is hosting a summit titled HARVEST (Holistic Agri-tech Initiative for Rural Value-chain Enhancement & Sustainable Transformation) from April 21 to 25, 2025.  The summit is being supported by the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC).  The event is planned in collaboration with Panjab University, IIT Ropar, CSIR-IHBT Palampur, DBT-NABI Mohali, and Unnati Cooperative. The summit is being hosted at Chandigarh, Ropar, Palampur, Talwara and Mohali. 

The event brings together Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), cooperatives, and agri-tech innovators from across the Asia-Pacific region. HARVEST is designed to strengthen the capabilities of cooperatives and FPOs by promoting technology-driven, climate-smart, and sustainable agriculture. Through immersive field visits, expert-led sessions, technology demonstrations, and cross-border knowledge exchanges, the summit aims to build a vibrant ecosystem of collaboration. The delegates will gain exposure to global best practices, engage in roundtable discussions, and connect with institutions leading in Agri-innovation.

The summit will serve as a launchpad for long-term partnerships across countries, and catalyse grassroots transformations in the agricultural value chain.

A key highlight of the summit will be the Agri -tech Challenge pitch day, scheduled for April 25, 2025 at NABI, Mohali. This agri-tech challenge invites startups, FPOs, cooperatives, and agri-innovators to pitch scalable, TRL-4+ solutions addressing the real-world challenges of FPOs, Cooperatives and agricultural ecosystem. The solutions are expected in areas such as climate-resilient farming, waste-to-wealth technologies, market access innovations, and deep-tech tools for financial inclusion. Selected participants will present to an esteemed panel of Asia Pacific FPOs, Cooperatives, Investors, Incubators, and policy leaders, with cash prizes of up to Rs 1 Lakh. Applications for the pitch day are open and details are available on the official PI-RAHI website.

Prof. Renu Vig, Vice Chancellor said that the summit represents a critical step toward fostering inclusive, tech-enabled agriculture for the region’s future. With its holistic approach to empowering rural stakeholders, the summit promises to be a transformative milestone for sustainable agri-development across the Asia-Pacific.