S4S Technologies was selected as the winner of the ‘The/Nudge Prize | Cisco Agri Challenge’, and Bioprime Agrisolutions emerged as the runner-up of the contest, which had called for ‘solutions to enhance the profitability of small scale farmers’, with 10-million-lives potential. The winners were identified by a grand jury aided by the Monitoring and Evaluation exercise conducted by Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA); and felicitated by Shri Manoj Ahuja, Agriculture Secretary, Government of India.
Cisco and The/Nudge Institute announced the challenge in December 2020 in partnership with the Office of the PSA, Govt. of India, with an aim to mobilize agri startups working towards income generation and sustainable livelihoods for small/ marginal farmers, while delivering positive economic, social, and environmental value.
The Grand Finale revealed the winning ideas and celebrated the work of these exceptional agri entrepreneurs. While the winning organization took home a prize money of INR one crore, the runner-up bagged INR 25 lakhs, in addition to the milestone grants, further access to investors, mentors, knowledge and technology partners, and policy circle advisers, over the 18-month period of the program.
Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, commended ‘The/Nudge Prize| Cisco Agri Challenge’ program, saying, “It is heartening to see the leading technology company Cisco Systems and The/Nudge Institute driving innovation programs like Cisco Agri Challenge. Through this initiative, young Indian entrepreneurs are bringing innovation and affordable technologies to farmers. The Cisco Agri Challenge has successfully brought together private sector investors, government, citizens, society, and agriculture experts, apart from providing financial support to startups. The Central Government has also launched the Digital Agriculture Mission for providing technology-led solutions in the agriculture sector and the work of Cisco and The/Nudge Institute is a welcome step in this direction. I would like to congratulate the teams for this commendable work.”
Harish Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India and SAARC congratulated the participating startups and said, “I congratulate S4S Technologies and Bioprime, who have won the Cisco Agri Challenge. The objective of Cisco Agri Challenge is to inspire innovation that will enhance the profitability of small-scale farmers. This aligns with Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all. I want to thank the Principal Scientific Advisor’s office and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for their guidance and support. I would also like to thank The/Nudge Institute to have partnered with Cisco in organizing this challenge.”
Sudha Srinivasan, CEO, The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation shared that, “The Cisco Agri Challenge drew talent, technology, capital, and attention to the most pressing land, crop, infrastructure, market fulfillment, and social protection issues of small farmers, spurred by the pandemic. The challenge has spotlighted innovative ideas that will empower India to leapfrog in developing sustainable solutions for an inclusive economy, biodiversity preservation, environmental conservation, climate change, and regenerative agriculture. Congratulations to the winners of the challenge.”
The finalists, over the course of the challenge, have raised over INR 30 crores from investors. In addition, many of them have won international awards and accolades. Takachar, which is on a mission to fight climate change and increase farmer incomes by drastically scaling the productive utilization of crop residues, was the recipient of the prestigious Earthshot Prize. Similarly, S4S Technologies, which is working on building a full-stack food processing platform, was recently awarded the Zyed Sustainability Prize.
Commenting on winning the prize, Nidhi Pant, Co-founder, S4S Technologies said, “Accepting the prize on behalf of our women farmers, team, partners and customers. We rise by lifting others – with any of our wins. At the end, our smallholder farmer gains. We are thankful to Govt. of India, The/Nudge Team and Cisco for all the support”.