The Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bengaluru (IIPMB) recently organised an international conference on challenges, opportunities and innovations in Agriculture, Plantations and Allied (APA) domains posed by the pandemic.

The conference was organised in partnership with Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, UK, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia and Faculty of Management Sciences, Surathani Rajahabat University, Thailand, IIPMB said in a statement.

Delivering the inaugural address, Prof. VG Dhanakumar, Director, IIPMB, emphasised the necessity of developing a research culture to address the issues posed by the pandemic. Dhanakumar also encouraged the delegates to strive for publishing in peer-reviewed and internationally indexed journals of ABDC, ABS and FT 50 series.

David Bozward, Professor & Dean, School of Entrepreneurship, Royal Agricultural University presented a paper focusing on “A Strategic Model for Opportunity Recognition and Entrepreneurship within Rural and Agricultural Regions”. David further discussed on different entrepreneurship models, applications and their impact on rural development.

Mohd Rasdi Zaini, Dean-Universiti Teknologi MARA, presented on “Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges & Opportunities in Plantation Industry". He discussed on broader challenges & opportunities in general and the Malaysian palm sector in particular.

The event also provided an opportunity to share research papers from registered faculty members and scholars across the globe. The conference had 18 shortlisted paper presentations across the globe focusing on different aspects of multicultural issues of the agri-plantation sector. Paper presenters appreciated the Institute efforts in organizing research conferences and also for valuable inputs for improving their work.