Infosys and Purdue University convene in a Workshop to Discuss the Future of Food and Agriculture
Plans Afoot to Jointly Set Up an Agriculture Center of Excellence
Purdue University and Infosys convened an Innovation Workshop, titled ‘Future of Food and Agriculture’, which brought together faculty from Purdue, agriculture industry leaders, and Infosys experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities across the food and agriculture value chain for farmers, buyers, grain elevator companies, farm equipment OEMs, agriculture companies, government agencies and technology solution providers.
The workshop sought to chart practical approaches to problems such as efficient grain storage, ensuring availability of effective grain transportation during harvest season peaks, and growing capabilities to trace and deliver full value for grains with special traits, like Orange Corn.
The thought leaders concurred digital solutions can help disrupt the grains’ supply chain – from farm to fork, and bring significant value to farmers, food processors and, eventually, consumers. Another significant challenge that continues to slow progress is the shortage of workers in the agriculture domain. Leveraging farming automation including robots and autonomous systems can not only help farmers bring down costs, but also drive better sustainability through precision agriculture and improved carbon footprint management on farms, the experts opined.
The workshop served as a platform to discuss how to solve for the challenges emerging from the ongoing pandemic that is adversely impacting the food and agriculture supply chain. This is proving to be an additional stressor for farmers already struggling with weather events and fluctuating prices when making decisions regarding crop selection, crop input application, crop pricing and planning for profitable yields.
The Future of Food and Agriculture Workshop served as a platform for Purdue University and Infosys to advance dialogue around jointly setting up an Agriculture Center of Excellence at the Infosys US Education Center in Indianapolis.
As part of the business innovation charter, thought leaders from Infosys remarked that working closely with universities like Purdue, to drive research and co-create technology-led innovations, can help industries better navigate their digital transformation. Infosys’ partnership with Purdue University will aim to explore advanced solutions that take advantage of AI, IoT and 5G, while collaborating to solve for tough challenges in the food and agriculture value chain.
Infosys has identified solution investment focus in the areas of reimagining grain storage for greater efficiency, a platform for modeling and planning of crop input, while also simulating the impact of unexpected events such as the pandemic, improving farm automation and building sustainable food chains.
Thought leaders from Purdue University called the collaboration out as an outstanding example of how academia and industry can work together to solve for real world challenges across the agriculture and food value chain.
