Innovation in farming need of the hour – Suresh Prabhu

Countries across the world are facing threat of climate change and there is an urgent need for innovation in agriculture, said Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu. He was speaking at an international conference and awards function for innovations by agri startups in New Delhi today.

The Minister said that in the next few years there will be more demand for food as the world population is growing and therefore there is a need for agri startups to produce more food crops in limited fertile soil and use less water.  Suresh Prabhu also called for innovations to minimise wastage of food grains, fruits and vegetables.

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The Commerce Minister said that the agricultural sector will have immense possibilities for startups, which are now confined mainly to think tanks and manufacturing. He said that high yielding and disease resistant crop varieties, soil nutrient maps, improved design of dairy, poultry and fisheries technologies should be developed with new innovations.

Urging the agri startups to become more innovative Suresh Prabhu said that the Government is working on a comprehensive strategy for facilitating growth of start-ups. He said that the Ministry is actively engaged with the startup community.

The Minister gave away innovation awards to agri startups in different categories and also released the PWC Knowledge report of FICCI.