New Delhi, September 12, 2026: With the aim of developing cutting-edge, technology-driven solutions to help farmers make informed decisions on the use of biological solutions, HACKCORE 2026, a three-day hackathon, jointly organized by IIT Ropar’s ANNAM.AI and Syngenta Biologicals, brought together students, researchers and technology enthusiasts to explore AI-led solutions for farmers in India.
Over three days of intense competition, teams worked on developing AI-based solutions to address key challenges in Indian agriculture, with Team SeedCoders emerging as the winner for its AgroVani AI solution that focuses on monetizing the residue and stubble in the field, providing timely Syngenta product recommendations to farmers, supported by AgroSaathi as the solution’s chatbot. As part of the prize, the winning team with its four members will visit the Syngenta Biologicals site in Atessa, Italy, to experience cutting-edge facilities and tools used in biologicals research first-hand.
Dr. Pushpendra P. Singh, Project Director, ANNAM.AI, IIT Ropar, said, “I congratulate the winning team and all the participating teams for the innovative and ground-breaking ideas that can help accelerate the adoption of AI in India’s agriculture sector. As India’s, AI Centre of Excellence in Agriculture, working at the intersection of agriculture and technology, it is one of our key priority to support the Skilling and capacity building under the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’. We believe that bringing India’s emerging talent closer to the challenges faced by our farmers is crucial to building a robust and climate-resilient farming in the country. HACKCORE 2026 is proof that when academia, industry, and the talent of our youth come together, we can deliver impactful solutions for India’s sustainable growth.”
The effectiveness of biological solutions can vary with crop, soil, climate, disease pressure, geography and season, making contextual decision-making critical to their adoption and impact.
“Innovation in agriculture creates real value when it becomes useful at the farm level. Biologicals have an important role to play in supporting more sustainable and resilient agriculture. By bringing together agricultural science, AI and field data, we can explore new ways to make these solutions more precise, relevant and actionable for farmers,” said Eladio Robles, Country Head & Managing Director, Syngenta India.
The HACK CORE 2026 challenge focused on three tracks – risk intelligence, biological product innovation engine and outcome tracking and continuous learning. Participants explored solutions that integrate climate, soil, crop and disease-risk information; translated these insights into recommendations on biological interventions; and tracked field outcomes.
