KIIT School of Rural Management (KSRM) hosted the 4th National Agribusiness Conclave with the theme: Feeding the Future: Innovations and Trends in Indian Agriculture and Food Sector on 16th September 2023.
The aim of the Conclave was to bring together scholars, students, and industrial leaders/practitioners, to address issues, developments, and trends in the Indian Agriculture & Food Sector. The event featured two panel discussions with the themes: (1) Future Trends and Transformative Innovations in the Agri Input Sector and (2) Technology Interventions in Supply Chain Management in the Agri and Food Sector.
The conclave was inaugurated by Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Vice Chancellor of KIIT Deemed University. In her inaugural address, she reminded the audience about the UN SDG goals, focusing on food security. She highlighted the need of the hour, which is the application of AI, IoT, and digital technology in agriculture. In this context, she cited the example of a KIIT alumnus who has made significant strides in this domain by working in collaboration with the Government of Odisha.
The event commenced with a welcome address by Prof. Nishith Parida, Director of KIIT School of Rural Management. He shared the remarkable journey of KIIT Deemed to be University under the visionary leadership of founder Prof. Achyuta Samanta. Prof. Parida also noted that KSRM, with its flagship programs in Rural Management, Agri-business Management, and Diploma in Community Development, has expanded its footprint in research, consultancy, capacity building, and Ph.D. programs.
Mr. Anilkumar SG, Founder & CEO of Samunnati, set the context of the conclave by emphasizing that it was the right time for three reasons: (1) Agriculture being in the spotlight or forefront, (2) Having an enabling environment through business incubators, and (3) The flow of private capital into agri-innovation.
The program also announced the winners of the national quiz ‘AGRIWHIZ’ and two winners who were physically present at the venue were awarded their certificates by the Vice Chancellor. She congratulated the winners as well as the participants.
Prof. Damodar Jena, Dean of KSRM, proposed the vote of thanks and emphasized the value of the panel discussions for students and summarized the key points made by the distinguished guests.
The first panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Vinayak Raman Sharma, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Savannah Seeds. The panel members included Mr. Sanjay Bisht, Regional Director (Asia) at Enza Zaden; Dr. Pradeep Kumar Kulkarni, National Head of Product Development at ADAMA; Mr. GVS Naidu, Commercial Lead (East) at Bayer Crop Science; and Mr. Durgesh Chandra, Secretary General of CropLife India. The panel deliberated on future trends in agribusiness, including digitization, precision farming, different government initiatives, the role of regulators and policymakers, advisory services, digital visualization, drones, Chemigation, e-commerce, biotechnology, GM crops, etc.
The second panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Anilkumar SG, Founder & CEO, Samunnati and had the following dignitaries as panel members Mr. Jiten Rao, Vice President (Supply Chain), DeHaat; Mr. Swapan Sinha, Head (Marketing), NDDB; Mr. Dushyant K Tyagi, CEO, Farmgate Technologies; and Mr. Rajen Padhi, Commercial Director, B-One Business House.
Prof. Nirmal Mandal of KSRM, the convener of the conclave proposed the vote of thanks. Later, the students met with the panel members for their queries and informal interaction.