The AgroStar Quality Assurance Lab (AQAL) is the first of its kind Agri input focused research lab
for an agtech startup in India.
● The lab follows ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) protocols for seed testing and the
highest Indian standards for crop nutrition testing to ensure the best quality seeds & fertilisers are
made available to farmers.
● The lab and advisory centre was inaugurated in the presence of Mr. Dheeraj Kumar, Agriculture
Commissioner of Maharashtra.
● The state of the art Agri Advisory Centre in Pune has employed over 500+ Agri Doctors and
provides real-time Agri advisory solutions to farmers.
AgroStar, India’s largest digital farmer network and an end-to-end solutions provider
for farmers, announced the opening of India’s Largest Agri Advisory centre and a Quality Assurance Lab
for Seeds and Fertilisers at its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra. The Agri Advisory Centre and quality
lab were inaugurated on 21st May, 2022 by Shri Dheeraj Kumar, IAS, Commissioner Agriculture,
Maharashtra along with the guest of honour, Mr. Umesh Chandra Sarangi, IAS, Retd. Additional Chief
Sec (Home), Govt. Of Maharashtra.
The AgroStar Quality Assurance Lab (AQAL), is a part of their R&D efforts and innovation with the single
intent to ensure farmers get the absolute best quality inputs through the AgroStar platform. The lab is
equipped with advanced equipment to conduct seed testing as per ISTA (International Seed Testing
Association) protocols and fertiliser testing as per international standards. It is operated by a team of
highly qualified professionals that include seed technologists, seed analysts, quality control professionals,
and chemistry quality analysts.
AQAL will carry out tests like physical purity test, moisture test, standard germination test, maintenance of
relative humidity, temperature & time to time monitoring of germination samples. The seed lab has
already undertaken more than 150 seed germination & other tests. The lab is in the process of receiving
accreditation from NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration) and ISTA
(International Seed Testing Association). The fertiliser testing capability will help in testing the quality of
all the fertilisers including water-soluble fertilisers and other micro and macro nutrients before supplying
them to farmers.
The Agri Advisory Centre has a team of 500+ Agri experts ( BSc. graduates and postgraduates)
providing real-time advisory services to farmers at no cost charged. Be it guidance on seed varieties,
preventive measures against pests and diseases or crop nutrition management, these advisors are
helping farmers to grow good quality crops, increase their yield and reduce their cost of cultivation
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Devraj Arya, Vice President – Farm Solutions and Regulatory
Affairs, AgroStar said “The quality of seeds determines the overall value of crop yield. Low-quality seeds
can lead to poor germination and vigour and thereby impacting crop yield, which ultimately negatively
impacts the potential earnings of a farmer. It is critical for farmers to use high-quality seeds, fertilisers and
other input products in order to get high-quality produce and finally better prices in the market. The
AgroStar Quality Assurance Lab will determine the quality assurance of seed and fertilisers before
supplying the products to our farmers on the AgroStar platform. AQAL will also ensure testing of crop
nutrition products (Fertilisers & micro nutrients) to ensure high-quality supply of fertilisers and crop
nutrition products to our farmers and later we will expand our services for pesticide analysis in near
future.”
Shardul Sheth, Cofounder and CEO, AgroStar said, “We identified early in our journey that there is a
knowledge gap in the Agri ecosystem along with a prevalence of spurious and poor quality products in the
sector. With this largest Agri Advisory centre in India and our Quality Assurance Lab, we are attempting to
solve both these issues. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality Agri inputs and real-time actionable
advisory to our farmers that can have a direct impact on their yield and their income. AgroStar’s lab tested
Agri inputs combined with the valuable real-time advisory are a huge step towards the mission of Helping
Farmers Win by doubling their income.
