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 1 crore, the runner-up bagged Rs 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.
Shri 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.”