LU Students’ Smart Agriculture Project ‘Krishi Sakhi’ Secures CST Funding

A student-led innovation from Lucknow University (LU) is set to receive government support, marking a significant boost for technology-driven solutions in agriculture. The project, titled ‘Krishi Sakhi’, has been selected for funding under the Engineering Students’ Project Grant Scheme 2025–26 of the Uttar Pradesh Council of Science and Technology (CST, UP).

Designed as a data-driven smart agriculture decision support system, Krishi Sakhi aims to help farmers make informed, scientific choices at every stage of cultivation. The project is led by Ratnesh Tripathi, with Krishna Yadav, Abhishek Pandey and Aditya Maurya as team members. The project is overseen by Dr. Himanshu Pandey, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lucknow University.

Essentially, Krishi Sakhi is a technology driven solution that combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to provide on, spot, location, based guidance to farmers. The device is a compact sensor unit developed around an ESP32 microcontroller, with sensors for soil moisture, temperature and pH measurement. Data collected is sent for processing and receiving commands through a GSM, based communication.

The innovative aspect of the project is its capacity to integrate local sensor data with weather predictions, satellite images, soil health profiles, government agricultural databases, and market price trends. The platform, which operates from this extensive data ecosystem, enables farmers to decide the crop to be planted, manage fertilizer application and plan irrigation, thus cutting down on the guesswork and input costs, and at the same time, increasing productivity. Dr Himanshu Pandey, calling the project a powerful instance of student- led innovation, said that Krishi Sakhi is a demonstration of how interdisciplinary technologies can be utilized to solve real agrarian problems. “The students have shown remarkable enthusiasm in developing a solution that can empower farmers while promoting eco-friendly and economical farming practices,” he said.

With CST funding now secured, the LU team plans to further refine and pilot the system, bringing smart, accessible agricultural technology closer to the grassroots.