SME Times News Bureau | 16 Nov, 2018
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.
Prabhu also called for innovations to
minimise wastage of food grains, fruits and vegetables.
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.