The Jaipur-based National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) has been hosting daily webinars on agri start-ups in June, according to P Chandra Shekara, Director General of NIAM.
Participating in a webinar organised by NIAM, in association with the Shivamogga-based University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), on Tuesday, he said NIAM has invited 30 agri start-ups from across the country for daily webinars during June.
The institute hosts one agri start-up in every webinar every day between 11 am and noon.
Stating that NIAM trained 59 members in agri entrepreneurship last year, he said 39 of them got a total funding of around ₹4.6 crore.
MK Nayak, Vice-Chancellor of UAHS, Shivamogga, said that many people wanted to return to their native following the outbreak of Covid pandemic. He said such programmes will help the ones interested in planning their own agri start-ups.
Arecanut sector
Highlighting the potential for entrepreneurship in arecanut sector, he said the sector needs around 60,000 skilled people to carry out various operations in the plantations. Seven districts that come under UAHS have around 4 lakh hectares under arecanut cultivation.
Manoj Agrawal, Chief Operating Officer of NIAM Agri-Business Incubator, explained the training and mentoring programmes offered at the institute for agri start-ups. Haneesh Katnawer of Himalayan Hemp Industries Pvt Ltd, who participated in the webinar, spoke on the mentorship he got at NIAM on his business idea.