A survey carried out in the finger millet (ragi)-growing Koraput district of Odisha, India, showed a large unmet demand for value-added millet products owing to absence of millet processing units in the area. ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) took this as an opportunity to propose the establishment of millet processing units to create new …Read More

Ms Satyavathi Rathod, Minister for Scheduled Tribes, Women and Child Welfare of India’s Telangana state, recently inaugurated a moringa (drumstick) processing unit in the state’s Khammam district and a dry mix (ready-to-cook foods) unit in Bhadrachalam. Both the units are wholly owned by tribal women, who were trained in food processing and entrepreneurship at ICRISAT. …Read More

LeanCrop Technology Solution Pvt Ltd (BharatAgri), an agtech start-up incubatee with the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) of ICRISAT, has raised US$ 2 million in pre-Series A funding from 021 Capital and India Quotient. “This round of funding will be used to further enhance product features and scale up operations to newer states in India. Our unique …Read More

International experts in a recent webinar discussed how ‘smart agriculture’ – modern information and communication technologies for agriculture – will radically change the way we do things. Patent databases can play a key role in enabling researchers and innovators to leverage technology for agriculture through up-to-date information. Patents or Intellectual Property databases are relevant, valuable …Read More

Legal experts in plant variety protection noted that registering a new plant variety in India, although time-consuming, can be simplified with a clear understanding of Indian regulatory and legislative frameworks. Steps involved in this registration process were clarified at a recent webinar, along with definitions and various key aspects of the Protection of Plant Varieties …Read More

Mr Allola Indrakaran Reddy, Minister for Endowment, Law, Forest and Environment, Telangana, inaugurated a tribal women-run food processing unit in Utnoor on 2 November. The Komaram Bheem Peanut Chikki Industries that the minister opened is wholly owned by first generation tribal entrepreneurs. The unit will supply to government nutrition programs and anganwadis in the tribal …Read More

Enthused by positive nutritional outcomes among children and women in its first phase, activities of the Giri Poshana diet diversification program in Telangana, India, are set to be scaled up to benefit more of the state’s tribal population. Two years after it began, the Government of Telangana and ICRISAT’s Giri Poshana diet diversification program has …Read More

The Plant Variety Journal of India will here on publish Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) testing results of crops in India. The testing phase is the most important step in the plant variety registration process and publication of testing data is to ensure transparency, emphasized Dr TK Nagarathna, Registrar at Government of India’s Protection of …Read More

Eight ICRISAT-incubated startups recently showcased their technologies to support farm livelihoods as part of a larger effort to bridge the technology gap for farmer collectives. The Indian government’s Invest India, through the Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi) program and the National Association for Farmer Producer Organisations (NAFPO), is bringing FPOs and agri-tech startups …Read More

To ensure nutrition sufficiency in children, pregnant women and lactating mothers of tribal communities in Telangana, India, during times of lockdown, ready-to-eat foods containing millets, sorghum and pulses produced by ICRISAT are being provided at their doorstep. “The food products are scientifically formulated to promote dietary diversity and are produced using locally available nutritious millets …Read More

In a collaborative effort, ICRISAT, with the Department of Agriculture Marketing and Agribusiness, Government of Tamil Nadu, has overseen the implementation of the Tamil Nadu Supply Chain Management (TNSCM) project. Recently, they designed and executed initiatives to connect farmers, processors, retailers and consumers directly and swiftly in Tamil Nadu state. This could serve as a …Read More

ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) was recently recognized by the Indian government with a top accolade for its contributions towards entrepreneurship promotion in India. The recognition came in the form of a National Entrepreneurship Award that is given annually by the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). ABI was declared winner for …Read More

The Agri-Business Incubator of ICRISAT promotes technology and knowledge driven agribusiness start-ups by providing technical and scientific mentoring, access to infrastructure, business development support, team management, legal support services, and access to funding sources. The jobs posted in this page are for positions that have been called for by our incubated start-ups, and NOT related …Read More

L to R: Dr Kiran K Sharma, Dr David Bergvinson, Dr Krishna M Ella, Dr H Purushotham, Dr Hiroshi Uchida and Dr Saikat Datta Mazumdar at the inaugural session of ASPA 2016 Photos:Moksh Interactive Events India The potential of science and technology parks (STPs) to foster diverse innovative technologies and transform them into successful business …Read More

Giving new dimensions to agripreneurship development and to enhance agricultural growth through innovation and partnerships, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) has been signed between the niversity of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (UAS-R) and ICRISAT. This will lead to setting up an agribusiness incubator (ABI) at the UAS-R campus, in Karnataka, India. …Read More

Attracting youth to the agriculture sector by transforming it into a business and offering them new avenues and opportunities to engage along the agriculture value chain will be the focus of the Mali Agribusiness Incubation Hub (MAIH) launched recently. …Read More

The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program of ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) was recognized in the category ‘Exemplary Contribution in Agriculture’ at the India-Africa Champion in Biz Awards 2015 that was organized by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on 19 October. …Read More

Agribusiness is poised to unlock the potential of agriculture to drive economic growth and reduce poverty in Africa. This was showcased at the first ever African Agribusiness Incubation Conference organized under the umbrella of African Agribusiness Incubator Network (AAIN). The conference also created a platform to promote successful agribusiness ventures, majority of which are run by women and youth in Africa. …Read More

The ABI Program of AIP organized a one-day boot camp for its private sector partners on Business Development and Fund Raising.

The partners are into various businesses that include production and export of gherkins; manufacturing and marketing of sorghum and millet-based snack foods; greenhouse farming and goat farming; farm ventures; marketing of water softener for agricultural use; marketing and export of bio charcoal; vegetable packhouse business; Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) formation and seed production; and business development of Agromate, a telemetric electronic device, which can control a motor pump using a mobile phone. They are currently supported by ICRISAT-ABI’s start-up business incubation program with technical support from the NutriPlus Knowledge Program of AIP. …Read More

Youth from the Information Technology (IT) industry are being attracted towards agribusiness and sought information on organic farming, precision farming and IT applications in agriculture.

They were keen on venturing into agribusinesses and adopting scientific methods and practices to make agriculture sustainable on farms in their villages. Other areas of interest for all participants included – protected cultivation, farm planning and technical support from ICRISAT, millet-based food processing technologies, Internet of Things – IT and internet-based applications in agriculture like mobile apps for agriculture information, weather forecast, market information, online trading, etc. …Read More

Bringing together investors and agribusiness entrepreneurs on a common platform the Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program of the ICRISAT Agribusiness and Innovation Platform, provided a forum for innovators to present their business ideas for funding support. Five agribusiness ventures focussing on ready-to-eat foods, farm mechanization through drone technology, meat franchises, organic e-retailing and fruit preservation technology were identified by investors for funding and business incubation support. …Read More

Managing agricultural wastes in an environment-friendly way is a critical need now and more so in the future. Spectrum Renewable Energy Limited (SREL), an incubatee of the ICRISAT Agri-Business Incubation Program (ABI), is turning agricultural waste into useful products like Compressed BioGas (CBG), organic manure and automotive …Read More

At a recently conducted international training program on value chain incubators, participants learned critical skills for successfully managing their enterprises. …Read More

Diversifying crops and diets to include nutri-cereals like millets and sorghum, attracting youth to farming, unlocking the potential of digital agriculture and creating economic opportunities for smallholder farmers, were some of the key issues that Kenyan government officials, partners, entrepreneurs and academicians discussed with Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, who visited the country in mid-April …Read More

At a recently organized training, rural entrepreneurs were exposed to value addition for cassava. Training was also provided on food processing management systems, food safety and business management.

This incubator, Pilot Incubation Center (CIP), Bonaberi, Douala, is unique for processing of cassava-based products that include chips, semolina, noodles, flour, etc, and incubates rural entrepreneurs on primary processing …Read More

At the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, spoke on ICT for Sustainable Agriculture. He highlighted the importance of leveraging digital technology to accelerate the development and delivery of farmer-preferred products and services, to increase agricultural productivity of the smallholder farmers, in a sustainable and equitable manner in the developing world …Read More

To help smallholder farmers get good returns from agriculture and also help them access quality seeds the government of the Indian state of Telangana will set up a Seed Export Accelerator and a Sorghum Export Development Platform …Read More

Providing a platform for promoting agribusiness entrepreneurship will lead to sustainable agricultural development in Africa. The African Agribusiness Incubator Network (AAIN) aims to bring together agribusiness incubators, incubator leaders, managers, and partner with both state and non-state actors at continental levels. It aims to provide Africa a strong policy platform that can engage globally with other incubators and organizations for mutual benefit …Read More

ICRISAT recently organized a capacity building program for Farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to provide better understanding of the gaps and opportunities for FPOs in agribusiness, best practices on running an FPO, seed production and effective business plan development initiatives for FPO developers and funding agencies …Read More

Farmer producer organizations (FPOs) from six states of India are benefiting from the agribusiness facilitation of ICRISAT that will enable them to operate as businesses and make their farm operations sustainable and profitable …Read More

The agribusiness incubation concept has been successfully demonstrated in setting up a farmer-managed seed enterprise. A farmers’ organisation in Tamil Nadu, India, has set up a professionally managed seed enterprise with mentoring and handholding by ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program. Apart from investing in the venture, ABI also provided support across the entire value chain from introducing seed varieties to help with branding, marketing and promotion activities …Read More

Further steps must be taken towards implementing appropriate biosafety and food quality standards by enhancing the technical skills of laboratory personnel from the developing countries of Asia and Africa. The ultimate goal is to ensure Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (IMOD) by leveraging on the potential of the agribusiness and food processing sectors in Asia and Africa, ICRISAT Director General Dr William D Dar said …Read More

ICRISAT participated in the celebrations of Dr Norman Borlaug’s birth centenary organized by the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII). This ceremony was held on 26 August along with the 13th Iranian Crop Science Congress and 3rd Iranian Seed Science and Technology Conference …Read More

In partnership with the Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food industry ICRISAT will initiate pilot projects involving smallholder farmers, towards understanding the traits required by the food processing industry for facilitating the rapid adoption of ICRISAT mandate crops in the industry. The projects will also help the private RTE entrepreneurs appreciate the untapped opportunities of ICRISAT mandate crops …Read More

The ‘Boot Camp on Business Development and Capital Raising’ conducted by ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) helped 24 prospects secure business incubation support and three prospects secured funding from participating banks …Read More

At Seed Tech Asia 2014 conference organized by ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) stakeholders focused on how technological interventions and proper management at the post-harvest stage can help reduce losses and thus improve yields for the smallholder farmers. As part of the conference, an Indo-Israel session on ‘Post-Harvest and Food Security’ was organized. This …Read More

Coffee smallholder farmers in Uganda can now look forward to better entrepreneurship and agribusiness opportunities and become stronger players in the coffee value chain with the launch of the Consortium for Enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development (CURAD). CURAD also aims to work towards becoming the leading generator of young agribusiness entrepreneurs to create jobs …Read More

Binging public and private sectors together in promoting innovations, partnership and entrepreneurial climate in the Indian agricultural sector, the Agri Innovation Conclave 2014 concluded successfully in New Delhi on 18-19 May. Dr Dar and Mr P Kenmore visiting a value-added millet products’ stall in the expo organized at the conclave. Photo: Sangya S, ICRISAT The …Read More

A train journey to promote cross learning among farmers across India was kick-started by ICRISAT with its hosting of the first of five Agro-tech and business opportunities expos to take place in five cities traversing through Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Mathura and New Delhi. NAIP farmer beneficiaries shared their success stories with fellow farmers to promote …Read More

Highlighting opportunities in agribusiness for the youth, the National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has embarked on a unique initiative called Agri-Biz Idol Camps. Aimed at reaching out to the youth and start-up entrepreneurs and to showcase the tremendous potential of agribusiness, the camps were successfully organized in five Indian cities, namely Hyderabad, New Delhi, Pune, Coimbatore and Anand from 5 to 9 May …Read More

Swayambhu Biologics, a graduate incubatee of ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program was adjudged the winner of the Social Enterprise Award 2014 under the Agriculture, Food and Livelihoods category at the Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014, held on 9-11 April in Mumbai, India …Read More

Aiming to promote innovative initiatives and empower agribusiness incubators, ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program conducted a training program for managers and clients of the Business Planning and Development (BPD) units of the Network of Indian Agri-Business Incubators (NIABI) …Read More

Sorghum smallholder farmers in Kenya can now look forward to better entrepreneurship and agribusiness opportunities and become stronger players in the value chain with the launch of the Sorghum Value Chain Development Consortium (SVCDC) …Read More

“Creating opportunities for the food processing sector in African countries will promote agribusiness development for the benefit of smallholder farmers. I am seeing the need for the implementation of appropriate food quality standards and enhancing the technical skills of laboratory personnel in order to leverage on the potential of the agribusiness and food processing sector in Africa,” said Dr William D Dar, ICRISAT Director General …Read More

“We are committed to work closely with our partners in Africa to boost the agri- and food-processing sectors across the continent through strategic interventions that strengthen value chains, promote food safety, develop innovative products and technologies, facilitate entrepreneurship, and ultimately help the smallholder farmers,” said ICRISAT Director General, Dr William Dar …Read More

Responding to the call for game-changing, sustainable agricultural innovations and showing how thinking out of the box can feed the world, ICRISAT shared its big ideas and innovations, such as the crucial role of agribusiness and entrepreneurship to build the economy, at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) …Read More

The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program under ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) has facilitated the establishment of the first ever full-fledged agribusiness incubator in West Africa. The West African Agri-Business Resource Incubator (WAARI) was officially inaugurated on 23 January in the Selingue province of Mali. Dr Dar examining agribusiness products at the stalls set up …Read More

“Our mission at ICRISAT is to make smallholder farmers in the drylands prosperous, not just self-sufficient. That is why we are engaged in promoting an inclusive and technology-based entrepreneurship and agribusiness program,” said ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar in his address during the inaugural program of the Agribusiness Fair held at the ICRISAT headquarters on 17 January …Read More

To promote the participation of youth in agribusiness, the Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) of ICRISAT participated in a one-day, state-level seminar on ‘Sustainable Agriculture and Food Processing’ organized by the Ratnapuri Institute of Technology – College of Polytechnic, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh on 6 January…Read More

To promote entrepreneurship in the agri-business sector, ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program showcased agro-technologies that were ready for commercialization at the farmer platform, KISAN 2013, held on 12-18 December at Pune, India …Read More

The National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in collaboration with ICRISAT will be holding a two-day Agri-Tech Investors Meet at the NASC Complex, New Delhi on 18-19 July. …Read More

More than 70 ready-to-commercialize agro-technologies from different sectors of agriculture were showcased and 58 agro-technologies were commercialized at the Agri-Tech Investors Meet held in New Delhi on 18-19 July.

Conducted by the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in collaboration with the Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program of ICRISAT, …Read More

Since its inception in 2009, the Network of Indian Agri-business Incubators (NIABI) has marked its presence by impacting innovations, entrepreneurs, and institutions. In the third edition of its annual conference, “Indian Agri-Business Incubation Conference: NIABI 2013” held on 26 April at the HITEX Exhibition Center in Hyderabad, the focus was on agro-technology commercialization with emphasis on business meetings (B2B) and deal finalization between entrepreneurs/industries and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). …Read More

The NIABI National Awards for 2013 were presented during the inaugural of AGRITEX 2013 on 25 April by Mr Kanna Laxminarayana, Minister for Agriculture and Agriculture Technology Mission, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The awards were instituted to recognize Business Planning & Development (BPD) Units of NIABI for their excellent performance and incubatees for their dedication in setting up successful agribusiness ventures. …Read More

The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program of AIP-ICRISAT conducted a one-day workshop for Mentors of the Network of Indian Agri-Business Incubators (NIABI) under the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) on ‘Handholding and Mentoring of BPD Units of NARS’ on 24 December at ICRISAT-Patancheru. The workshop was to facilitate mentoring arrangements for the NAIP-BPD units to facilitate funding for their entrepreneurs. …Read More