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What is the News?
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have launched its first AgriTech Challenge under its ambitious innovative Agri-tech program.
Background
AIM, NITI Aayog in partnership with UNCDF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rabo Foundation had launched a South-South innovation platform in July 2021. The platform aims to enable a cross-border exchange of innovations, insights and investments.
Through this platform, cross-border collaborations are enabled among emerging markets across India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.
The first initiative of the Platform is the Agritech Challenge (‘Programme’).
What is the purpose of the Agritech Challenge?
The Challenge aims to help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The challenge will support selected agritech and agri-fintech startups to expand to the international markets. They will get access to industry, investor & market linkages, along with mentorship from sector experts to help them build and test their solution in their chosen international market.
What is the significance of the Agritech challenge for India?
In India, more than 50% of the population is dependent on agriculture, and it contributes to about 15-18% of the GDP. To improve the agricultural sectoral landscape, NITI Aayog is taking several steps.
This challenge will help in those steps by helping develop a more self-reliant and responsive agriculture ecosystem that can address the issue of food security and also benefits smallholder farmers.
Source: This post is based on the article ‘AIM, NITI Aayog & UNCDF announce first AgriTech cohort under South-South Innovation platform’ published in Indian Express on 22nd Dec 2021.
