Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Noting that the importance of agriculture in India’s economic and social fabric is known to all and is a significant contributor to the GDP of the nation, Indian Institute of Technology Indore director Prof Suhas Joshi said that it’s high time that the real problems faced by farmers are addressed through technological innovations which should be available at an affordable price to them.
“We should focus on sustainable business models for the benefit of farmers and society,” he said while addressing a 3-day Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development Training Programme being organised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore & Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, Jaipur.
Joshi, HexGen CEO Jappreet Sethi, Prof Manish Kumar Goyal, Prof Mayur Jain and participants from across India were present during the inaugural session. The IIT Indore director said that through this programme they aim to empower participants with knowledge and insights into modern agricultural practices and entrepreneurship. The programme is designed to foster interaction among participants from different sectors, focusing on technology, entrepreneurship, and agriculture so as to address challenges in agriculture.
The challenges would include uncertainties in weather predictions, land constraints, crop yield management, supply chain, and need for modern technologies. Sethi emphasised the potential of the agri-tech sector in India, challenges faced by the farmers like fake seeds, degrading soil quality and water stress. He initiated a session on the untapped potential in agri-tech, shedding light on different sectors and the entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture.
The event will include sessions on the untapped potential of agritech, an overview of intellectual property rights & management, entrepreneurship for small farmers, understanding markets in India, agricultural innovation, and biological inputs for soil health. The programme will also feature a field visit to ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research.
