Project Overview

Athena Infonomics, in partnership with Catalyst Management Services (CMS) and Vassar Labs, is supporting the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) and the Gates Foundation to design and operationalize a technology-enabled Programme Management Unit (PMU) to strengthen agrifood systems.

Aligned with the state’s Swarna Andhra@2047 vision, which targets 15% annual growth in the primary sector, the initiative focuses on enabling data-driven decision-making, climate resilience, and market-oriented pathways. The program is anchored in two key systems: APAIMS 2.0, the state’s integrated agriculture data and decision-support platform, and Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs), transforming RSKs into dynamic, tech-enabled service and planning hubs for smallholder and tenant farmers.

Athena’s Role

Athena is leading the design and implementation of the PMU as a strategy-to-execution engine, embedded within the Department of Agriculture and working in close coordination with RSKs, farmer collectives, and line departments.

Key areas of support include:

• PMU Design and Operationalization: Establishing an integrated PMU structure spanning strategic leadership, execution, monitoring, and learning functions.
• RSK Strengthening and Capacity Building: Positioning RSKs as decentralized planning and service delivery nodes, equipped with decision-support tools integrating household-level GVA data, crop cycles, input needs, and grievance tracking.
• AI-enabled Advisory Systems: Supporting the deployment of human-in-the-loop AI systems, where RSKs translate data-driven insights into actionable, context-specific advisories for farmers.‍
• Digital and Data Systems Integration: Leveraging APAIMS 2.0 and interoperable data architecture (open APIs) to enable real-time, hyperlocal decision support.‍
• Convergence and Coordination: Facilitating alignment across government schemes, market actors, and financial services to deliver bundled, farmer-centric solutions.‍
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL): Establishing systems for real-time tracking of outcomes, feedback loops, and adaptive planning to inform policy and program refinement.

Approach

The PMU adopts a bottom-up, evidence-driven model that places RSKs and farmer institutions at the center of planning and execution. Key features of the approach include:

• Localized Planning through RSKs: Each RSK functions as a planning and monitoring unit, using household-level data to identify service gaps and align interventions with district and state targets.
• Human-in-the-Loop AI: Combining advanced analytics with frontline extension support to ensure advisories are trusted, relevant, and actionable.
• Integrated Service Delivery: Converging inputs, advisories, market linkages, and financial services at a single farmer-facing touchpoint.
• Iterative Learning and Adaptation: Continuous feedback from field implementation informs system improvements, program design, and policy decisions.

Intended Outcomes

The initiative is designed to:

• Strengthen last-mile service delivery for smallholder farmers through RSKs;
• Enable data-driven, hyperlocal decision-making across the agriculture value chain;
• Improve farmer access to inputs, advisories, markets, and credit;
• Support evidence-based planning and policy formulation within the state;
• Build a scalable and resilient model for farmer income enhancement and agrifood system transformation.

Innovation Sandbox: Bridging Innovation and Last-Mile Delivery

The Innovation Sandbox on AI and Frontier Technology is a dedicated worktream, designed to enable real-world testing of innovative digital agriculture service delivery models, particularly where underlying technologies are mature but pathways for last-mile adoption remain unproven. Acting as a commissioning and technical support partner, Athena facilitates the deployment of targeted pilots that generate practical evidence on what works in farmer-facing contexts. The Sandbox operates through catalytic risk capital, underwriting specific commercial and operational risks that private sector actors are unable to absorb during early-stage validation, thereby enabling experimentation, learning, and the identification of scalable, field-ready solutions.

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As part of the Innovation Sandbox, Athena Infonomics has launched a competitive viability grant to test scalable, drone-based agricultural service models in Andhra Pradesh. The grant supports real-world validation of commercially viable, farmer-centric delivery systems with potential for statewide scale.

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‍Download the document!

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Additional Reads: 

1. A New Chapter in Farmer-Centric System Strengthening in Andhra Pradesh
2. What a Young Farming Couple Taught Me About Assumptions
3. One Woman’s Support, Many Women’s Confidence

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‍For any project related queries, reach out to Soumya Alamuru and Ankit Chatri.