CII’s Food and Agriculture Center of Excellence (FACE) under its Advanced Technology Program umbrella is organizing the 5th edition of the Global Dialogue on Advanced Technology from 14-16 Dec 2021. The theme of the Global dialogue this year is “Innovating at the Frontier from Agriculture to Agribusiness”. The whole idea is to find innovative solutions for traditional agricultural challenges, showcase such solutions from across the globe and create a platform for dialogue on how these can be adapted in India.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the conference Dr Abhilash Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India highlighted the need for greater convergence between the various players and mentioned ‘We have technologies, data, and innovation however, the ultimate issue is convergence. The Government looks forward to collaboration at diff levels to strengthen the federated database’.
Highlighting the aim of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission mentioned that the mission aims to create and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across India. ‘AgTech is one area where India is ready for growth and the focus under the mission is on necessary acceleration’.
Setting the context for the inaugural session themed ‘Strategizing Indian AgTech @75 Mr. Sanjiv Puri, Chairman CII National Council on Agriculture and Chairman and MD, ITC Ltd mentioned that "It is my firm conviction that the digital revolution can be effectively leveraged to power next generation agriculture with several AI based Agtech solutions that are emerging today. Digital technologies can enable a quantum leap in transforming the agricultural sector through higher productivity, demand responsive agri value chains besides scaling up exports".
The inaugural session was also attended by Prof. Vikram Adve, Co-Director, Center for Digital Agriculture, University of Illinois, Director, AIFARMS National AI Institute. Prof Adve highlighted that ‘Judicious use of low-cost scale-neutral tech can enable sustainable, profitable, productive agriculture and keep youth motivated to make careers in Ag’.
Speaking on the challenge of small holder farmers Mr. Parmesh Shah, Global Lead, Data Driven Digital Agriculture, World Bank highlighted the need for bundled solutions. He mentioned that ‘Point solutions with a single service are not viable esp. for small landholders, we need bundled solutions in one platform for end-to-end solutions.’
Highlighting the investment ecosystem Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, CEO, NABVENTURES mentioned that ‘there is a pressing need for equity investments in Indian Agritech. Indian agriculture faces challenges (and therefore opportunities) in 3 areas: Agri inputs, On-farm interventions, and market linkages.’
Speaking about the global AgTech ecosystem Mr. Aadarsh Baijal, Partner, Southeast Asia Digital Practice, Bain & Company, Singapore mentioned that ‘there are three ways in which the Agtech innovation ecosystem is developing in the world today - Disrupting traditional farming, - New farming models & sustainability &, - New Food products & uses and all these there are relevant in Indian context as well.
The three-day global conference has highly curated sessions around soil and water management, farm monitoring, mechanization and automation, post-harvest technologies and advanced biotech focus on discussing innovations for unleashing the optimum potential of the AgTech sector. Over the 3 days more than 25 International speakers will be joining the sessions.
On the side-lines of the conference “AgLIVE” Start-up Pitch - an exclusive platform for Entrepreneurs and Innovators to showcase their technology and Pitch before a Distinguished Jury to mobilize funding and secure potential incubation opportunities along with access to FPOs. The winners of the pitch session will be announced in the special plenary session on 16th Dec.
16 December 2021