Support women-led start-ups: Lt Governor to stakeholders

Srinagar, Oct 5: Calling upon institutions and private-sector stakeholders to support women-led start-ups Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said that our engineering colleges and agricultural universities need to actively nurture women to reach positions of technological leadership.
Addressing the 60th Annual Convention of the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE), co-hosted by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir here, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said, “Women-led start-ups in agricultural technology should receive financing with the same confidence with which any other start-up is provided the necessary support and facilities.”
“We must ensure that our engineering colleges and agricultural universities actively nurture women to reach positions of technological leadership. Laboratories, fellowships and incubation platforms should be created where a young woman engineer or scientist from a village in Kishtwar or Kupwara can see her idea progress through a credible journey into a market-ready product,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor underscored the critical role of women in agriculture, noting that nearly 64% to 76% of the rural female workforce is engaged in farming and allied activities, often without wages or land ownership.
He called for empowering women innovators and ensuring their leadership in agricultural technology. He urged institutions and private-sector stakeholders to support women-led start-ups and create laboratories, fellowships and incubation platforms that nurture young women engineers from rural areas.
Sinha congratulated ISAE on completing six-decades of service to the nation and commended SKUAST-Kashmir for its pioneering role among India’s leading agricultural universities.
The Lieutenant Governor highlighted the significance of the convention’s themes- Women-Led Engineering Innovations in Smart Farming and AI and Robotics for Gen-Z Farming. He noted that these subjects underline India’s transition from overcoming food security challenges to assuming a leadership role in global agriculture. He emphasized that Jammu Kashmir, with its rich agricultural heritage and challenging terrain, is the most suitable venue for such deliberations.
Reflecting on the journey of agricultural engineering since ISAE’s inception in 1960, the Lieutenant Governor recalled how scientists and engineers contributed to the Green Revolution through mechanisation and innovations that reduced post-harvest losses. He urged the young generation to draw inspiration from these achievements while addressing contemporary challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and sustainable farming.
The Lieutenant Governor stressed that artificial intelligence and robotics must be developed with affordability and accessibility at their core. He cautioned that innovations should not remain confined to large land-holding farmers but must reach small and marginal farmers, who constitute nearly 86% of India’s farming community. He advocated for tools that can operate on ordinary smartphones in low-bandwidth villages and for collective ownership models through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
The Lieutenant Governor cited examples of drones, IoT-based sensors, and machine-learning models that are already transforming agriculture. He urged innovators to focus on practical solutions that endure in real fields under real conditions, rather than merely impressing conference halls. He said success of technology must be measured by whether small farmers genuinely benefit from these tools.
“I urge the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, SKUAST-Kashmir, and every young engineer and innovator to develop tools with affordability and access at their core. Create instruments that work not only on cloud infrastructure, but also on an ordinary smartphone in a low-bandwidth village in Reasi.
Develop robotic instruments that can be leased through Farmer Producer Organisations or collectively owned by farming communities. I believe that this is the true meaning of developing technology for Gen-Z farming, technology that progresses alongside small and marginal farmers,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor said Jammu Kashmir’s Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) is a replicable model for other states. He expressed confidence that agricultural scientists and engineers across India would learn from the UT’s experience in precision agriculture and sustainable resource management.
“Create technology that can endure in real fields, under real monsoon conditions, and within the limited budgets of real farmers. Do not measure your success solely by patents or published research papers. Measure it by whether, five years later, a small farmer in Anantnag, Amritsar or Akola is genuinely better off because of your tools,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
On the occasion, the Lieutenant Governor also felicitated the recipients of ISAE awards.
Javid Ahmad Dar, Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election; Dr. Ashish Chandra Verma, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production; Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST Kashmir; Dr SN Jha, President, ISAE; Prof. VP Singh, Texas, A&M University; Dr PK Sahoo, Secretary General, ISAE; Prof. Rohitashw Kumar, Convener, 60th ISAE Convention; Dr Mudasir Ali, Organising Secretary of the Convention; members of ISAE; researchers, academicians, technocrats, innovators, industry leaders, faculty and students were present. (KNO)