NABARD Keen on Building Farm Sector-startup Linkage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has offered its support to build a linkage between agritech start-ups and farmers to see that the innovative products and solutions developed by the startups play a vital role in agricultural development.

The topic was discussed at an interactive session held between NABARD officials and startup promoters at the virtual exhibition of agritech products organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) as part of the seventh edition of ‘Big Demo Day’ series here.

Dr K Subramanian, DGM, NABARD, and Mohammed Riyaz, Malabar Regional Head, NABARD, attended the online meeting.

During the interaction, the public sector financial institution and startups discussed how to make use of the affordable technologies developed by the start-ups to address various issues relating to the farm sector, including boosting the productivity. They also discussed various schemes and possible grants that could be arranged through NABARD to take the idea forward.

Around 10 agritech startups participated in the expo: Fuselage Innovations, Budmore Agro Industries, Teqard Labs, OrgaAyur Productions, Alcodex Technologies, St. Judes Herbal Pvt Ltd, Corbel, Farmers Fresh Zone, Connect One and Nava Design and Innovation.

More than 380 people visited the virtual stalls, where startups displayed their products and solutions developed for farming-specific problems.

Seeking the possibilities and opportunities for startups in Australia, a webinar on “Australian and Far East Market Access” was also held. Startups interacted with ecosystem experts from Australia, besides pitching their ideas.

As many as121 live interactions were held at the expo, which was attended by international clients and investors. Angel investors like Malabar Angel Network, Indian Angel Network, Speciale Invest, Benzai 10 Investment Ventures and Digital Futuristic Angel Investors (DFAN) attended the event.

Representatives of Agriculture University, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Agriculture Department, agriculture-related private and public sector companies also participated.

The eighth edition of Big Demo Day will be held in October focusing on Fintech sector.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.