Indian School of Agriculture should help farmers become CEOs of their own farmlands, says Anant Ambani
Reliance Industries Executive Director Anant Ambani on Friday called for a technology-driven transformation of Indian agriculture and said the forthcoming Indian School of Agriculture (ISA) should empower farmers to become “CEOs of their own farmlands.” He was speaking at Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district during the launch of the Global Horticulture Hub and the laying of the foundation stone for the ISA on October 2, 2026.
Event Overview
The ceremony brought together senior leaders, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, alongside Mr. Ambani. The dignitaries unveiled plans for a Global Horticulture Hub and initiated work on the ISA campus, projects aimed at catalysing agricultural development in Rayalaseema and beyond.
Vision for ISA and Rayalaseema Agriculture
Framing the ISA as a catalyst for farmer-led enterprise, Mr. Ambani said the institution should equip cultivators with the managerial and technological skills needed to maximise productivity and income. “The Indian School of Agriculture (ISA) should help farmers become CEOs of their own farmlands,” he said, underscoring a push toward data-informed decision-making on the farm.
He linked that vision to the Global Horticulture Hub, a planned ₹40,000-crore initiative he said would modernise farming in Rayalaseema. “Artificial Intelligence, drones, robotics, cloud computing and precision agriculture will be the buzzwords,” Mr. Ambani noted, outlining a technology-first approach to on-field practices and market integration.
Technology Applications and On-Ground Impact
Detailing use cases, Mr. Ambani said AI could alert farmers to pest attacks and equip Madanapalle’s prominent tomato growers with data to decide when and where to sell their harvest for better prices. He also pointed to greenhouse technologies that could enable year-round cultivation, smoothing seasonal volatility and potentially lifting yields and farmer incomes.
Training, Outreach and Digital Delivery
Mr. Ambani announced that Jio would work with the ISA to deliver agricultural training digitally to millions of farmers in Indian languages. The plan includes training rural youth as agricultural extension workers to provide last-mile advisory services. “Reliance would also share its research capabilities,” he said, indicating that the company’s R&D resources would be aligned with the ISA’s curriculum and field programmes.
Investment Plans in Clean Energy
Beyond the horticulture and education initiatives, Mr. Ambani said Reliance was exploring a ₹1 lakh-crore investment in compressed biogas (CBG) plants in Andhra Pradesh. The potential project, he said, could create more than three lakh jobs and generate about ₹60,000 crore in revenue, signalling a large-scale clean energy and rural development opportunity that would complement the agrarian economy.
Appeal to Andhra Pradesh
Concluding his address, Mr. Ambani made a personal appeal to the State’s leadership and people: “Consider me a son of Andhra Pradesh and guide me on what I can do for this beautiful State.” His remarks, shared alongside the formal announcements, underscored Reliance’s stated intent to position itself as a long-term partner in the State’s agricultural and rural transformation.
Significance
The announcements at Madanapalle tie agricultural education, advanced technology and clean energy investment into a single development narrative for Andhra Pradesh. With the ISA envisioned as a farmer-centric institution, the Global Horticulture Hub planned as a high-value infrastructure project, and a potential CBG investment on the horizon, the initiatives collectively signal a push to modernise farming practices, create rural employment and strengthen value chains in Rayalaseema and across the State.
