FASAL, a Centre of Entrepreneurship (CoE) for IoT in Agriculture established by STPI at Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth
with specialized state-of-the-art incubation facility and physical laboratories for start-ups in the area of Agri Tech / Smart Agri where the highest-standards and best-practices in terms of infrastructure, technology, leadership, mentoring, training, research & development, funding, networking for the given focus area is made available.
Akola district is land of cotton which is famously known as white gold district of Maharashtra State. Cotton is the most important cash crop of western Vidarbha region. Eight out of eleven districts of Vidarbha are primarily cotton growing. Cotton farming is the backbone of the farmers of Yavatmal, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Buldhana and Washim districts in western Vidarbha. However, with scanty rains and very limited irrigation facilities at disposal, cotton farmers are often exposed to higher risks that many times result in loss of income.
The second largest crop grown in Vidarbha region is Soybean which is predominant in kharif season. In eastern Vidarbha region, paddy is the most dominant crop. It is generally grown with pigeon pea and this is the most remunerative cropping system followed by the farmers. However, the productivity of soybean has been declining in the past few years. This necessitates crop diversification in the area.Green gram, black gram and groundnut are also grown during kharif. Chick pea is the most predominant crop grown in rabi. Citrus is the main fruit crop grown among the horticultural crops and Nagpur is known as orange city.
Akola is having one of the oldest state Agriculture University, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), an agricultural university which was established on 20th October, 1969.
For developing a holistic approach to sustainable development, including awareness of sustainable resource management practices are essential. It is envisioned that innovations in agriculture would transform existing slowdown in agriculture into a vibrant and competitive environment by harnessing untapped opportunities in domestic and global markets. It is believed that agricultural innovation, research and development would augment farmers' income, generate employment opportunities, conserve natural resources, promote exports and increase value addition for higher and comprehensive agricultural growth.