S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit Record Highs as AI Stocks Rally and Strong Jobs Data Boost Confidence 
Dollar Slips as Strong U.S. Jobs Data Reduces Fed Rate Cut Expectations 
Wall Street Hits Record High as AI Chip Stocks and Strong U.S. Jobs Data Boost Markets 
Shell Q1 Profit Surges to Two-Year High as Dividend Rises Despite War-Driven Debt Pressure 
Arm Stock Drops Despite Strong AI Chip Demand and Earnings Beat 
Dollar Rises as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Pushes Oil Prices Higher 
AcadeMedia Q3 Profit Climbs as International and Adult Education Segments Drive Growth 
Trump Invites Top CEOs Including Nvidia, Apple, Boeing to China Summit With Xi Jinping 
K+S Raises 2026 Earnings Outlook After Strong Q1 Results 
Indian Stock Market Drops as Iran Conflict Fuels Oil Price and Inflation Fears 
Russian LNG Shadow Fleet Expands Amid Arctic LNG 2 Sanctions 
Armani Group Eyes Strategic Stake Sale to Luxury Giants 
Gold Prices Rise as Weaker Dollar and Iran Ceasefire Hopes Boost Safe-Haven Demand 
Goldman Sachs Delays Fed Rate Cut Forecast to 2026 Amid Rising Inflation Concerns 
China Banks Halt New Loans to Sanctioned Refineries Amid U.S.-Iran Oil Crackdown 
Orsted Q1 EBITDA Beats Expectations Despite U.S. Impairments 
Nike Tariff Refund Lawsuit Sparks Consumer Backlash Over Price Increases 
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
