Karnataka to open agriculture Centre of Excellence in Kalaburagi under LEAP
Karnataka will set up an agritech CoE in Kalaburagi funded under LEAP; Krishi Kalpa Foundation will operate the centre to promote farmer‑startup‑research collaboration and skills development.
Karnataka will establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in agriculture and allied sectors in Kalaburagi to boost rural innovation and reinforce the region’s agritech ecosystem, the state IT/BT department announced.
The initiative is led by the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), which signed an implementation agreement with Krishi Kalpa Foundation. The foundation will operationalise and manage the CoE’s research, innovation and entrepreneurship programmes with grant support from KITS for five years.
The CoE is designed as a collaboration platform for farmers, startups, researchers and young innovators to co‑develop agritech solutions aimed at strengthening rural livelihoods and promoting sustainable economic growth across Kalaburagi and surrounding areas.
IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge highlighted that Kalyana Karnataka can become an agriculture and rural enterprise innovation hub, and described the CoE as a vehicle to connect stakeholders and accelerate practical technologies for farming communities.
The project is part of the state’s Local Economy Acceleration Programme (LEAP), backed by a Rs 1,000 crore budget to stimulate entrepreneurship outside Bengaluru. This follows an earlier announcement of an entrepreneurship centre in Kalaburagi and formalises an R&D and startup hub focused on agriculture and allied sectors.
Karnataka plans six such CoEs across the state with a combined Rs 90 crore allocation over five years to support R&D and innovation hubs, including in the agricultural field.
The CoE will prioritise agritech domains such as AI‑enabled agriculture, IoT applications for farming, robotics, digital agriculture platforms and data‑driven farm technologies, along with skills development.
A council and monitoring committee with representatives from the state government, academia, industry and agricultural experts will govern the centre, set strategy and oversee implementation.
For local farmers and agri‑enterprises, the CoE should provide improved access to new technologies, training and partnerships with startups, potentially affecting farm productivity, risk management and the regional agri‑economy.