Academic institutions agree to form agri-consortium to boost startups

India's higher educational institutions on Wednesday agreed in principle to create an 'Agri-Consortium' to give a push to startups in the agriculture sector.

An in-principle framework in this regard was adopted by participating higher educational institutions (HEIs) during the 'Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium-2023 that concluded at the Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur, on Wednesday.

The two-day event was aimed at providing 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 requirements in the agriculture industry, an IIM Kashipur press release here said.

The HEIs agreed to share startup databases among consortium members, disseminate startup support programmes, and networking, and share best practices on the platform.

The event was organised by the Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), an incubation centre of IIM, Kashipur, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Director of IIM Kashipur Kulbhushan Balooni said, "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."

Associate Professor, IIM Kashipur and Director, FIED, Safal Batra said, "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".