Demand-driven approach to technological development can strengthen Indian agricultural system

Over the past few decades, Indian agriculture has seen a concerted push towards the development of cutting-edge technologies tailored to meet evolving market demands.

This focus has led to the creation of a wide array of advanced innovations by both public and private sector institutions. However, the benefits of these technologies can only be fully realised when effectively transferred to end-users.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the country’s apex agricultural research body, has played a crucial role in ensuring that technological progress in agriculture and allied sectors keeps pace with changing environmental conditions.

These include the increasing impact of climate change, natural disasters, and declining land quality — all significant challenges in the sector.

Adapting to change

ICAR’s constituent research institutes are equipped with modern laboratories, infrastructure, and farm facilities, all developed with public funding.

These can be strategically utilised to deliver societal benefits. Some of the most in-demand agricultural technologies today include improved crop varieties and hybrids, bio-formulations and bioprocessing innovations, post-harvest solutions, animal feed and aquaculture technologies, farm implements, diagnostic tools, vaccines, and digital solutions encompassing software, databases, Internet of Things, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Artificial Intelligence and big data.

Before these technologies can be commercialised, they must be protected through appropriate intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes.

However, despite the steady development of new technologies, their commercial uptake remains slow. This is particularly evident in agriculture, where various constraints — such as limited technical maturity, low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), productivity issues, supply chain inefficiencies, and post-harvest losses — hinder widespread adoption.

Overcoming obstacles

To overcome these obstacles, it is essential to scale up innovations to meet industry standards, facilitating easier evaluation and adoption. Yet, a major gap persists: there is currently no effective mechanism for assessing market demand and aligning it with technological supply.

Public institutions can play a key role here by using existing facilities to further refine technologies based on industry needs. After valuation, regulatory compliance, and other required assessments, these technologies can then be made available for commercial use. This translational process — from research to end-user — can be significantly improved through robust commercialisation strategies and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Promoting entrepreneurship through innovation models, such as technology licensing and incubation, has the potential to revolutionise agricultural practices across the country.

A crucial step in this process is the proper assessment of a technology’s TRL, which ranges from early ideation to full commercialisation.

Technologies at higher TRLs are more likely to be adopted by industry, but awareness of TRLs remains limited within the scientific community. This disconnect results in a mismatch between innovation outputs and industry expectations.

Many promising technologies remain at lower TRLs due to financial limitations or a lack of insight into market trends.

These barriers can be addressed through PPPs that support scaling up innovations, improving both TRLs and market readiness.

Unfortunately, current research agendas often fail to reflect industry requirements, and many laboratory-developed solutions are ultimately rejected by the market.

Research institutions must become more attuned to industry needs and realign their priorities accordingly. A symbiotic relationship between research bodies and industry will be critical for long-term sustainability.

Cross-institutional collaboration and closer links between researchers and industry players will help close the existing gap between technological development and market application.

To steer research in the right direction, it is essential to accurately identify market demands and end-user problems, while ensuring that adequate supply, viable solutions, and policy support are in place.

While government agencies are primarily responsible for policymaking, involving industry stakeholders in policy design can ensure more relevant and effective frameworks. However, meaningful coordination between the public and private sectors remains limited. Greater synergy between these sectors can enhance the quality and impact of services delivered to farmers and agribusinesses.

In conclusion, a demand-driven approach to technology development—underpinned by effective public-private partnerships, strategic planning, and robust dissemination mechanisms — can significantly strengthen the Indian agricultural system. Such efforts will facilitate national and global knowledge exchange and contribute meaningfully to the country’s socio-economic development.

Krishan G Thakur is Business Manager at Agrinnovate India Ltd., a Government of India enterprise, based in New Delhi. Mohit Sharma is affiliated with Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar.

Views expressed are authors' own and do not necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth