By PD Rai
In India many startups are actually happening in the Organic
Agri space. Little is known of or about them. They may not have found space in
Vigyan Bhawan during the inauguration of #StartupIndia. Of course,
overwhelmingly the glitz of Technology led startupswere there for everyone to
see. They are the now famous ones in online marketing like Flipkart or those in
transportation aggregation like Ola.
Prime Minister Modi flagged off #StartupIndia in New Delhi
on 16th January. This is a fantastic initiative and we all applaud
it. It has the architectureof giving entrepreneurs the space to do what they do
best, creating products and services from ‘ideas’ and making them work – the
startup ecosystem. After making them work finally curating them to be able to
monetize it before ramping it up in terms of scale.
That an idea can fail and hence needs that exit route is
planned well. Self certification is a key ingredient. This will take away the
‘babu’ or small time bureaucrats who have no clue as to what entrepreneurship
is all about impeding the process. They do not even want to understand it. They
just want to get in the way. They add friction and costs. All
counterproductive. If I am writing all this, believe me I have had the
opportunity to going down this road myself. But better, I have had the
opportunity to listen to thousands of young people who have had to contend with
this ‘harassment’. In one sweep our Prime Minister has gotten rid of this.
Thumbs up to that.
Making it easier to register and get loans is the next big
thing. Creating a tidy Rs. 10,000 Cr fund for start ups is also a great
initiative.
If the Ministries all ensure that there is minimum Government,
then I am sure the #StartupIndia will lift off.
Now to making the main argument. Why should this be limited
just to Technology led start ups. What we need to do is to connect it to
Agriculture. Make AgriTech Startups cool. This is where the real fun is going
to be because India’s teeming millions of young people will have to be part of
the food security apparatus. This needs careful handling as there is a message
in the Startup plan that only Tech Startups are in. Agro-Startups will enhance
our ability to grow our food locally and build the largest food basket in the
world. Such startups will have the resilience to adapt to the vagaries of
weather induced by Climate Change.
Will NABARD be up to the task? Can they leverage the
fundamental momentum that is being given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
solving the key issue of young people leaving their farms and going elsewhere?
Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim is playing host to the
Agriculture Ministers of India Meet which was flagged off by Union Minister
Radha Mohan Singh and Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling yesterday.
Sustainability and welfare of Farmers is the thematic which all Ministers have
to deliberate on and come up with some concrete suggestions for the Prime
Minister, who is going to listen to the outcomes before he speaks on the
occasion today.
The keynote speech was given by Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member
NITI Aayog. He is a long time professional in the field of agriculture. What he
said was remarkable. He aligned completely with the theme of this article. How
can we make #StartupIndia available to the farming sector? Hence there is a
meeting of minds here. It is not just about giving sops but now turning to
making farming profitable once again with cheaper input costs.
Critically technology is available for the farms. Many young
and Tech background people have found solace and their calling in buying poor
and degraded land and making them into vibrant Agri businesses. There are many
instances out there. Take for instance the Lumiere Organic, headed by Manjunath
and headquartered in Bangalore. They started with just growing what is now
known as Organic Food and Vegetables. They now have a roaring Organic Food
Restaurant. Guess who are their main customers? Technology fatigued souls from
Bangalore’s millions working in all the Hi Tech industries! All looking for the
Organic balm.
Manjunath wants to source products from far away Sikkim.
So now what is required? Get young entrepreneurs to do just
what Manjunath and many others have done. Young people need to get the space to
start and if need fail. This is what entrepreneurship is all about.
Sikkim, under Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has created a
State that is fully organic. Sikkim is the brand. Sikkim needs to be leveraged.
Can we now marry Prime Minister Modi’s #StartupIndia with #OrganicSikkim and
field a 1,000 young entrepreneurs? This is a challenge worth taking. This is a
partnership worth exploring.
This perhaps is the opportunity of the decade before us.
What it needs is to be able to have a quick mechanism like an incubator in
Sikkim to leverage the full potential of #StartupIndia.
Welcome to Sikkim, Hon’ble Prime Minister to!
(The author is the sitting MP Lok Sabha, Sikkim and
the opinion shared is personal)
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