6,000 agri-startups not enough, need more: VP Dhankhar
Addressing the gathering at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, on the theme 'Fostering Agri-Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Viksit Bharat', Dhankhar said, “There are 6,000 agri-startups, but for a country of 1.4 billion, a country that has 100 million farming communities farmlands, this is not the right number.”
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12:14 PM IST
Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called upon entrepreneurs to make the most of the government's incentives and raise the number of agri-startups, which number just 6,000 in a country of 1.4 billion.
Addressing the gathering at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, on the theme 'Fostering Agri-Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Viksit Bharat', Dhankhar said, “There are 6,000 agri-startups, but for a country of 1.4 billion, a country that has 100 million farming communities farmlands, this is not the right number.”
“The government has taken many initiatives. People must be aware of them. Make them aware of them. Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), I studied it in great depth. There is a budgetary allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore. This can fund various activities to enhance and strengthen infrastructure for the farmer,” he said.
Vice President underscored that "we must move from food security to farmer prosperity." The farmer, he said, must be prosperous, and this evolution must originate from institutions like Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
He further elaborated that farmers must step off the farmland and involve themselves in marketing their produce.
"Farmers should not just be producers and forget about it. That would mean they will painstakingly, tirelessly raise a produce and will sell it at a time when it is right for the market, without holding it. It doesn't give much financially," he noted.
He called for empowering the farmers by generating awareness and informing them that the government cooperative system is very robust.
Highlighting the role of research and technology in agriculture, he stressed that the gap between lab and land must not merely be bridged — it must be a seamless connection.
"Lab and land must be together and for this, over 730 Krishi Vigyan Kendras must be vibrant centres of interaction with farmers, to educate the farmers," he said.
He also called for connecting Krishi Vigyan Kendras and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which has over 150 institutions focusing on every aspect of Agronomy.
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