Rare seeds and drone sprayers under one roof: inside India’s biggest farm tech expo

The 24th edition of Agri Intex, which opened at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex in Coimbatore on Thursday, is proving to be as useful for terrace gardeners as it is for large-scale farmers. The five-day expo, spanning 150,000 square feet and running through July 13, brings together 496 companies from India and abroad in 660 stalls.

Kanjana of Sulur, who manages a terrace garden, described the expo as a one-stop shop. “For women like me who manage terrace gardens, this is a one-stop shop. We can buy high-quality vegetable seeds, decorative plants and saplings all in one place. While it is heavily beneficial for large-scale farmers, it’s equally great for home growers. In fact, I managed to purchase rare seeds like nei milagai (ghee chilli) and athalakkai (bitter cucumber), which are otherwise impossible to find in regular commercial shops,” she said.

Beyond seeds and saplings, the expo’s bigger draw is its array of automation, including advanced drone sprayers, direct paddy-transplanting machines and automated harvesters that streamline farm labour from seeding to harvest. Leading companies from Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are exhibiting alongside firms from Italy, Malaysia, Japan and the US.

The expo also features specialised zones dedicated to nurseries, livestock and live machinery demonstrations, aimed at bringing the latest advancements in agriculture, horticulture, dairy farming, poultry and food processing technologies under a single roof.