India’s higher educational institutes (HEIs) have agreed, in essence, to create a HEI-led ‘Agri-Consortium’, a move initiated by IIM Kashipur. An in-principal framework in this regard was adopted by participating institutions (HEIs) during the ‘Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium-2023 organised by the Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), an incubation center of IIM Kashipur, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, concluding here today.

The two-day Agri Consortium 2023 aimed to provide a common platform for academicians, researchers, students, and industry professionals to interact and deliberate on the latest trends and advancements in technology, research, funding avenues, and industry requirements in the agriculture industry.

During the consortium, higher education institutions (HEIs) and universities agreed upon a principled agreement with three steps: first, sharing of start-up databases among consortium members; second, dissemination of incubation or start-up support programs; and finally, networking and sharing best practices on the platform.

Prof. Kulbhushan Balooni, director of IIM Kashipur, thanked everyone for the successful completion of the two-day 'Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium 2023.

In another development, the RKVY RAFTAAR Scheme, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India through FIED, IIM Kashipur, has provided funding of 1 crore 60 lakh rupees to 10 start-up companies. These companies operate in the fields of drone technology, agri supply chain, food processing, hydroponics, waste to wealth, and agri biotechnology industries.

Prof. Kulbhushan Balooni, director of IIM Kashipur, said, “This Agri Consortium will serve as a platform for sharing information on agri-start-ups supported by member higher education institutions from different parts of the country. This opens the avenues of collaboration between start-ups from different geographies, helping each other take their innovative solutions to a large number of farmers."

Prof. Safal Batra, associate professor of IIM Kashipur, and director of FIED, said, “Through this consortium, we are building a knowledge pool for the start-up ecosystem so that we can extend our support to various industries in developing significant start-ups within the agriculture sector. Additionally, we are going to establish a knowledge bank for failed start-ups in the agricultural industry to provide insights into their failures. These insights will be shared with policymakers and the government to assist in crafting policies for their benefit.”

Approximately 10 HEIs, including IGKV-Raipur, CCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, IVRI Bareilly, Pusa Krishi, New Delhi, GB Pant University, VCSJ Uttarakhand University of Forestry and Horticulture, Bharsar, Uttarakhand, and CCS NIAM Jaipur, and IIm Kashipur, have agreed to a principled agreement to collaborate in the Agri Consortium.