TAFE’s MASSEY DYNASTAR Contest – Season 2 celebrates grassroots agri-innovation

THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

MUMBAI, AUGUST 12, 2025

TAFE – Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, one of the world’s largest tractor manufacturers and the maker of the iconic Massey Ferguson tractors in India, has successfully concluded the second edition of its pioneering Massey DYNASTAR Contest – Season 2, 2025 #SabseBadeAllrounder Ki Talaash. The initiative seeks to discover and reward original, scalable, and socially impactful agricultural innovations powered by the versatile Massey Ferguson DYNATRACK 241 tractor.

The competition witnessed an overwhelming 16,000-plus entries from across 26 states and five Union Territories, underscoring the depth and diversity of India’s agricultural ingenuity. From this nationwide pool, 12 finalists were shortlisted from seven states — Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh — representing farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and agri-students committed to grassroots innovation.

At the Grand Finale, an eminent jury comprising industry veterans from Sales & Marketing, Operations, and Product Management evaluated the participants on innovation, feasibility, scalability, income generation potential, and societal impact.

The top honour went to Avinash Desai, an IT professional-turned-farmer from Belgaum, Karnataka, for his innovative mobile slurry dewatering machine powered by the Massey Ferguson DYNATRACK 241. He was awarded a brand-new MF 254 DYNASMART 2WD tractor worth approximately Rs 8.2 lakh.

The second prize went to Prateek Agarwal from Hojai, Assam, for his solar-powered sustainable energy hub concept, earning him an 8-gram gold coin. The third prize was bagged by Amrit Jot Singh from Patiala, Punjab, for his water purification unit powered by the MF DYNATRACK 241, also rewarded with an 8-gram gold coin. The Jury’s Choice Award was presented to Dr. Jayakumar Karuppusamy, a retired IAS officer from Kamrup Metropolitan, Assam, for his multipurpose farm machine, earning him a 50-gram silver coin.

In the Institutional Category, the Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), Kumulur, Trichy clinched first prize for an eight-row tractor-mounted transplanter, while Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Erode secured second place for its automated multi-vegetable transplanter. Both innovations were designed for the Massey Ferguson DYNATRACK 241, and the students also received internship offers from TAFE.

The prize pool included a brand-new tractor, gold and silver coins, innovation hampers, and development grants, reinforcing TAFE’s mission to empower rural India, promote farmer-led R&D, and enable real-world agricultural solutions through technology.

The Massey DYNASTAR Contest continues to be a unique platform embodying TAFE’s vision of ‘Cultivating the World’ by fostering meaningful engagement, inclusion, and support for agrarian change-makers. Building on this year’s success, TAFE has announced that Season 3 will return next year with an even greater reach, scale, and impact, furthering its commitment to nurturing agri-entrepreneurship across India’s rural heartland.