December 20, 2021: One of India’s leading agtech company, AgNext Technologies has entered into a partnership with Spices Board of India to deploy its innovative curcumin testing technology for assessment of Lakadong turmeric, which is grown in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya.

This is the first time in Meghalaya that AI-based technology is being used for rapid quality assessment of Lakadong turmeric.

Additionally, the Spices Board and turmeric farmers will also have access to AI-enabled SaaS platform ‘Qualix’, which will help to digitize quality, generate critical insights and enable traceability across the supply chain.

Lakadong turmeric is globally considered to be one of the best quality turmeric with high curcumin content (between 7-12%), as compared to other varieties of turmeric where the average curcumin content is measured between 3-5%.

AgNext’s tech solutions were deployed at the Turmeric Processing Unit (TPU), located at the Horticultural hub, Thadlaskein. Here, AgNext’s curcumin assessment solution will be operated by women farmers associated with self-help groups (SHGs).

Banteidor Lyngdoh, Minister of Agriculture, Meghalaya, KN Kumar, Chairman- Meghalaya Farmers’ Empowerment Commission, GHP Raju, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry, and Meghalaya were present at the event where the tie-up was announced.

Speaking about the deployment,Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, CEO & Founder, AgNext Technologies said, “Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric is renowned for its highest curcumin content in the world, and we are proud to associate with Spices Board as its quality partner to digitize the quality of this unique variety of turmeric. Traditional testing time of turmeric can take hours, and depending on the distance, it can even take days for the test results to come back. This leads to loss of time and resources for both farmers and traders. Rapid quality testing helps to mitigate these losses by analyzing curcumin content in less than 1 minute. Additionally, since all the farmers associated with the SHG are women, there couldn't be a prouder moment for AgNext as we empower the women farmers!”

Set up in 2016, AgNext Technologies is a leading agritech start-up that provides deep-tech enabled solutions for food quality assessment, monitoring, and management.