How a 14-Year-Old Awardee is Redefining the Future of Farming in India

The challenges facing Indian agriculture, from climate change, depleted soil, and increasing costs of inputs, are today, more than ever before, receiving attention not only from research labs and bureaucratic corridors of power but from classrooms as well. Aashi Prisha Borah, at just 14 years of age, is one such innovator from Jorhat, nestled in the State of Assam, who embodies, almost unobtrusively, this changed thought process where agriculture and science converge, and sustainability is no longer just a trend but life itself.

Aishi has been awarded with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2025 in the Science & Technology field. The most notable aspect about her work is its complete relevance in the Indian agricultural context. Her projects involve natural farming practices, Newspaper Mulching, and further "waste-to-wealth" projects, besides raising pertinent questions regarding the day-to-day challenges faced by farmers on Indian soil - reduction in soil moisture, rising costs of chemicals, and agricultural waste.

The most interesting Agri-tech intervention that Aishi has made is newspaper mulching, which costs very little to implement and is environmentally friendly, ensuring the conservation of soil moisture and weed control. In regions such as Assam that face the challenges posed by erratic rainfall, such technologies are very useful for farmers in that they need not invest any money for the benefit they receive.

Her contributions to natural farming also fit perfectly within the national agenda that is striving to overcome dependence on chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Through organic and natural farming methods, she is pioneering a future where productivity and nature cannot be seen as mutually conflicting entities anymore. As a country where more than half the population is dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood, this is precisely the balance that is required.

Another is her waste-to-wealth innovation, known as the newspaper recycle machine, which turns recycled newspaper into pencils that can be reused. Even as it is not directly an agriculture innovation, it is representative of the rural economy mentality: taking waste and turning it into wealth.

The projects of Aishi have been exhibited at a national event at the Rashtriya Bal Vaigyanik Pradarshini and National Children's Science Congress; however, what is more important is the fact that these projects showcase how solutions to agricultural challenges in the coming decades may have been discovered in these young minds thinking locally and acting scientifically. While the earth is tightening its hold on farming in the subcontinent, the second farming revolution, in all its likelihood, will not be the result of massive industrial mechanization but the concept of Aishi Borah, where “sustainability is obvious, innovation is inclusive, and the future of farming will be determined not by age, qualifications, or credentials, but the clarity of conviction.” It is not only an honor to the individual but is already an indication that the language of the farmer and the scientist is being spoken, and the seeds of resilience are being sown at a young age, sometimes by children who know that the health of the soil is the health of the nation.