Tractor and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), the flagship company of the Chennai-based Amalgamations group, has wrapped up the second edition of its Massey Dynastar Contest – Season 2, 2025.
The initiative in intended to identify and reward original, scalable and socially impactful ideas that can be powered by the Massey Ferguson DYNATRACK 241 tractor.
The contest drew over 16,000 entries from 26 states and five Union Territories, representing farmers, rural entrepreneurs and agriculture students. Twelve finalists from seven states such as Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh – were shortlisted.
The top prize went to Avinash Desai, an IT professional-turned farmer from Belgaum, Karnataka, for his mobile slurry de-watering machine concept. He received a new MF 254 DYNASTAR Contest 2WD tractor worth about Rs 8.2 lakh.
Prateek Agarwal from Hojai, Assam, won second place for a solar-powered sustainable energy hub. Amrit Jot Singh from Patiala, Punjab, secured third place for a water purification unit powered by the DYNATRACK 241. Both received 8g gold coins.
The Jury’s Choice Award goes to Dr. Jayakumar Karuppusamy, retired IAS officer from Assam, for a multi-purpose farm machine design, earning him a 50-gram silver coin.
In the institutional category, the Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute (TNAU), Kumulur, won first prize for an 8-row tractor-mounted trans-planter, followed by Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Erode, for an automated multi-vegetable trans-planter. Both machines were designed for use with the DYNATRACK 241, and the winning teams were offered internships with TAFE.
