California Jury Awards $40 Million in Johnson & Johnson Talc Cancer Lawsuit 
Shell M&A Chief Exits After BP Takeover Proposal Rejected 
Asian Stocks Edge Higher as Tech Recovers, U.S. Economic Uncertainty Caps Gains 
Oil Prices Slip in Asia as 2026 Supply Glut Fears and Russia-Ukraine Talks Weigh on Markets 
RBA Unlikely to Cut Interest Rates in 2026 as Inflation Pressures Persist, Says Westpac 
Oil Prices Rebound as Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Venezuelan Tankers 
CMOC to Acquire Equinox Gold’s Brazilian Mines in $1 Billion Deal to Expand Precious Metals Portfolio 
Blackstone Leads $400 Million Funding Round in Cyera at $9 Billion Valuation 
Trump Sues BBC for Defamation Over Edited Capitol Riot Speech Clip 
Silver Prices Hit Record High as Safe-Haven Demand Surges Amid U.S. Economic Uncertainty 
Dollar Struggles as Markets Eye Key Central Bank Decisions and Global Rate Outlooks 
Asian Fund Managers Turn More Optimistic on Growth but Curb Equity Return Expectations: BofA Survey 
Asian Currencies Slip as Dollar Strengthens; Indian Rupee Rebounds on Intervention Hopes 
HSBC’s $13.6 Billion Take-Private Offer for Hang Seng Bank Gains Board Backing 
Oil Prices Rebound as U.S.-Venezuela Tensions Offset Oversupply Concerns 
FDA Says No Black Box Warning Planned for COVID-19 Vaccines Despite Safety Debate 
Treasury Wine Estates Shares Plunge on Earnings Warning Amid U.S. and China Weakness 
PepsiCo India and Cropin Technologies join forces, launching a revolutionary crop intelligence platform that enhances potato yield management. The initiative, targeting small-scale Indian farmers, deploys satellite imagery and remote sensing to optimize resource use and mitigate crop diseases.
The new platform combines satellite imagery and remote sensing data to offer a simple solution for monitoring the optimum use of resources such as water and fertilizers and evaluating pesticide use.
The pilot was launched at demo farms in Gujarat involving 51 farmers and in Madhya Pradesh with 11 farmers. Among the crop diseases that it tackles are blight disease, which can cause up to 80 percent potato crop damage, and ground frost, which is common in North India.
The platform, developed by Pepsico and Cropin, allows farmers to avail themselves of up to 10-day advance forecasts to monitor the health of the crops. PepsiCo works directly and indirectly with nearly 27,000 farmers in 14 states of India, and all of the potatoes used in producing its "Lay's" brand come from domestic producers.
Farmers participating in the pilot stage receive the appropriate training and support from the field agronomists who are helping them use the insights and the dashboard. The concept is currently being tested on 62 farms, 51 in Gujarat and 11 in Madhya Pradesh.
With the digitalization of agricultural activities, which were converted to SAP systems under the Smart Agro Program, PepsiCo in India began investigating agricultural technologies in 2018. The primary objective of the program was to increase value by boosting productivity and water safety using accessible technologies.
According to Anukool Joshi, Director of Agro at PepsiCo India, the rollout aims to empower PepsiCo farmers to maximize crop quality and yield. Cropin CEO Krishna Kumar noted that their solution reduces business risk while boosting efficiency by providing crop health indicators.
Photo: Eric Prouzet/Unsplash
