Tirupati teenager receives US grant for innovative agriculture technology

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A 19-year-old technology innovator from Sullurpeta in Tirupati district has been awarded a grant of $8,750 from Emergent Ventures, a fellowship programme associated with the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University in U.S.A.

Jakkula Jai Sai Karthik, who is currently pursuing his third year of engineering at a private college, has been placed in a group of entrepreneurs supported through the programme. His technology focuses on applications in the areas of agriculture and disaster mitigation.

His platform enables farmers, agricultural lenders, and crop insurers to assess field conditions in less than a second by analysing real-time soil moisture, thermal conditions and crop vigour. The system is designed to help small and marginal farmers in identifying potential yield risks and plan planting strategies ahead of drought conditions.

Karthik plans to use the grant to develop a planetary intelligence engine that reportedly converts unstructured satellite imagery and climate signals into an instant 0-100 land score for any geographical coordinate on the earth.

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