ICRISAT signs MoA with Agricultural Sciences varsity

​Hyderabad: Giving new dimensions to agripreneurship development, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) has been signed between University of Agricultural Sciences Raichur (UAS-R) and city-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

This will provide support to set up an agribusiness incubator (ABI) at the university's Raichur campus in Karnataka, a release from ICRISAT said today. ICRISAT will help to identify and promote agribusiness start-ups, as well as facilitate agro-technology transfer in the North Karnataka region,

which is expected to enhance the impact of outreach activities for the university, it said. "Entrepreneurs will get technical and business development support in seed production, farm machinery and food processing domains.

This will be through technical support to develop business models, capacity building and training for incubator personnel, facilitate strategies and systems," the release said.

The partnership with ICRISAT opens a new chapter for the university in promoting technology and agri-based entrepreneurship in the region, said PM Salimath,

Vice Chancellor of UAS-R. "ICRISAT and its partners have been successful in facilitating the establishment of agribusiness incubators in India and Africa aimed at engaging youth,

women and farmers to initiate small and micro-level agribusiness ventures. We hope to achieve similar results through this partnership," said Peter Carberry, Deputy Director General (Research),

ICRISAT. The handholding and mentoring support for UAS-R will be provided through the co-business incubation initiative of the Agri-Business Incubation Program — part of the ICRISAT Agribusiness & Innovation Platform (AIP).