Gastrotope partners with Andhra govt to nurture agri, food-tech startups

Gastrotope, an agriculture and food-tech accelerator announced that it has signed an agreement with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to create a 'Farm to Fork' ecosystem in Visakhapatnam.

Today's announcement follows the inauguration last month of Gastrotope's incubator office in Vizag Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two partners will collaborate to provide the necessary infrastructure such as test fields for agriculture, incubation space and an acceleration program. The program aims to facilitate and nurture startups in agri-tech and food-tech spaces in Andhra Pradesh and India. AP Innovation Society will be coordinating and facilitating this project from the government's side.

Through this program, the two parties aim to accept up to 10 startups in 2018, against an allocated budget of Rs. 50 million in each of them.

"Our vision to create the world's leading 'Farm to Fork' tech ecosystem right within India and this partnership marks an important milestone in this direction. Andhra Pradesh is among the most progressive states in India with a forward-looking leadership; which recognises the potential of technology-enabled innovation in agriculture and food economy. We are thrilled to join hands with the state government and aim to co-invent the future of India's food economy," said Gastrotope co-founder Rajesh Sawhney.

On a related note, Gastrotope is a focused accelerator that aims at bridging the gap between the farms and the food tech industry. The company envisions on catalysing new innovations in the food tech sector of the country. It aims at investing in startups that would add to the "Farm to Fork" ecosystem. These startups would add value in various parts of the value chain, starting with farmers and moving to food transportation, processing and delivery to and consumption by customers.