Pusa Krishi, a special purpose initiative of ICAR-IARI, has announced the launch of its incubation program, ‘SHITIJ 2024’, aimed at nurturing and supporting early-stage startups in agriculture and innovation.
This year-long program provides capacity building, infrastructure, and various other resources to help startups thrive. Registrations for the program, hosted by Pusa Krishi, ZTM & BPD Unit, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, are open from July 15 to August 4, 2024.
The program is divided into two phases:
- Phase 1: is a 15-day extensive training and mentoring program where selected innovators will engage with experts from various domains. This phase aims to build capacity, expand technical and business understanding, and foster collaborations among participating startups.
- Phase 2: involves a 1-year learning and technical session during which the startups will be incubated at Pusa Krishi, ICAR-IARI. Their progress will be continuously assessed, and the incubation period can be extended based on participants’ performance.
Participants will benefit from monthly mentoring sessions, technical and business insights, advice on intellectual property matters, connections with investors and industry leaders, access to IARI’s facilities, grants and funding opportunities, and validation assistance from industry experts.
The focus areas of the incubation program include mechanization of farming, precision agriculture, supply chain and agriculture logistics, post-harvest technology, food technology and value addition, waste-to-wealth and green energy in agriculture, agriculture allied sectors, agriculture fintech, agricultural inputs and biotechnology, natural resource management, and agriculture extension and education.
Pusa Krishi’s SHITIJ 2024 aims to empower early-stage startups, driving innovation and sustainability in the agriculture sector.
