IIM Kashipur FIED Sanctions INR 1.6 Crore Funding For 10 Agriculture Startups An agreement for the agri consortium was formalised during the 'Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium-2023
By Teena Jose
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The higher education institutions (HEIs) across India have united to establish the nation's inaugural Higher Education Institutions-led 'Agri-Consortium.' by IIM Kashipur, this initiative signifies a pivotal step towards fostering collaboration and innovation in the agricultural sector.
In a parallel development, the RKVY RAFTAAR Scheme, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India through FIED at IIM Kashipur, allocated funding amounting to 1 crore 60 lakh rupees to support ten startup companies.
These startups operate across various sectors, including drone technology, agri supply chain, food processing, hydroponics, waste-to-wealth, and agri-biotechnology industries.
The agreement for the agri consortium was formalised during the 'Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium-2023, an event organised by the Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), an incubation center affiliated with IIM Kashipur, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
According to an official statement, during the consortium, higher education institutions (HEIs) and universities agreed upon a principled agreement with three steps: first, sharing of startup databases among consortium members; second, dissemination of incubation or startup support programs; and finally, networking and sharing best practices on the platform.
"This Agri Consortium will serve as a platform for sharing information on agri-startups supported by member higher education institutions from different parts of the country. This opens the avenues of collaboration between startups from different geographies, helping each other take their innovative solutions to a large number of farmers," stated Prof. Kulbhushan Balooni, Director of IIM Kashipur.
The 'Agri Consortium 2023,' spanning two days, was conceived with the primary objective of providing a unified platform for academicians, researchers, students, and industry experts to engage in constructive dialogues.
"Through this consortium, we are building a knowledge pool for the startup ecosystem so that we can extend our support to various industries in developing significant startups within the agriculture sector. Additionally, we are going to establish a knowledge bank for failed startups 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," said Prof. Safal Batra, Associate Professor, IIM Kashipur, and Director, FIED.
