The Odisha government has received a Rs 1,000 crore investment proposal from Silicon Valley-based high-tech company FarmX to build an advanced manufacturing and export hub for robotics, autonomous electric tractors, artificial intelligence (AI) software, and intelligent farming systems in the state. On Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment and Energy Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Additional Chief Secretary for Electronics & Information Technology (E&IT) Vishal Kumar Dev met with a delegation led by FarmX Chief Operating Officer Premal Ashar and Head of AI Lalit Bhatt to discuss the proposal.
A cutting-edge industrial campus and an intelligent precision-farming program are the goals of the projected investment. Up to 1,120 direct and 3,700 indirect employment, mostly in specialized technological industries, are anticipated to be created by the project. The proposal calls for the manufacturing facility to produce one lakh field-sensing units and 1,000 autonomous electric tractors annually for both local and foreign markets.
According to Singh Deo, Odisha is actively seeking out international innovators in cutting-edge fields like electric mobility, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. According to him, the state’s priorities were increasing agricultural output, fostering the use of deep technology, and giving young people in the area access to high-skilled jobs.
The proposed initiative also seeks to introduce advanced agricultural technologies in Odisha through FarmMap, FarmX’s open-architecture platform. The platform uses satellite imagery, patented OSMO soil-moisture sensors and a regional-language mobile application in Odia to provide real-time farm intelligence and automated irrigation.