2nd Global Agri-Business Incubation Conference NIABI 2012 highlights entrepreneurship for vibrant agricultural development

Credit: ICRISAT Happenings

Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurating the NIABI 2012 at IARI, New Delhi, while ICRISAT Director General William Dar and NAIP Director Dr Bangali Baboo look on.

Highlighting the crucial role of entrepreneurship as a catalyst for agricultural and economic development, the 2^nd Global Agri-Business Incubation Conference of the Network of Indian Agri-Business Incubators (NIABI) 2012 concluded successfully in New Delhi on 8 February 2012.

Jointly organized by the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and ICRISAT, the three-day conference aimed to create global awareness, build competencies on agribusiness incubation among entrepreneurs, and establish partnerships among agribusiness sectors worldwide.

In his address as Chief Guest at the inaugural session, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, spoke on the need for a “vibrant agricultural development through innovations and inclusive growth” for India to become an economically developed nation by 2020. This, he added, is possible through product diversification, with focus on better technology, sound entrepreneurship, infrastructure development, and market understanding.

“Worldwide, business incubators are now gaining recognition as vital to agricultural and industrial agribusiness sectors, where technology serves as a precursor for improving the economic, social and environmental conditions especially of rural communities,” said ICRISAT Director General William Dar in his message during the conference.

“India should lead the rest of the world with its vast experience in commercializing farming technology. Networking with farmers and enterprises will be the core of this success,” he added. With NIABI as the model, several incubators across Africa will be set up through ICRISAT’s partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

(Left) Dr Kalam lighting the lamp to kick start the NIABI 2012 at IARI. Also seen in the picture are DG Dar and Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Advisor, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. (Right) Participants of the NIABI 2012.

In a special roundtable session chaired by Dr Dar on India’s recent initiatives on South-South collaboration through the Indo-African Summit on Agribusiness, a joint declaration was signed by NIABI and FARAUniBRAIN towards intensifying partnership in technology transfer and commercialization of agribased products between India and Africa.

In his remarks during the closing session, NAIP Director Dr Bangali Baboo said that the conference has opened up new avenues of opportunities for the scaling up of NIABI’s initiatives in commercializing technologies and supporting entrepreneurs.

The conference was attended by more than 200 agri-preneurs, scientists, agri-companies, policymakers, farmers and funding agencies from India, as well as representatives from Malaysia, Philippines and six African nations. A roadmap to revitalize agriculture and allied sectors through agribusiness was developed during the conference, serving as a platform to popularize new and better livelihood opportunities and to strengthen the global agribusiness incubator network.

Participants of the special session on South-South collaboration chaired by Dr Dar.

NIABI was set up in 2009 to harness the potential of agricultural entrepreneurship to improve the livelihood of millions that depend on India’s agriculture sector and to contribute to the nation’s overall economic growth. Today, it boasts of 10 Business Planning and Development (BPD) units coordinated by ICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program and 54 technologies that have been commercialized generating revenue worth USD10 million.

The next global NIABI conference will be held at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin, Kerala in February 2013.

back to top


Feeding the forgotten poor
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam launches DG Dar’s book

(L to R) Dr Bangali Baboo, Director, NAIP; Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; and Dr Dar during the book launch.

The world’s population will grow from almost 7 billion now to over 9 billion in 2050. The daunting question is – will there be enough food to go around?

In his book Feeding the Forgotten Poor, Director General William Dar raises the question of how the world is going to feed the poor, recounting the events of his own life and career that shaped his commitment to and vision of a hunger-free world.

The book was launched by former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at the inaugural session of the NIABI 2012 on 6 February where he was the Chief Guest.

In the book’s Foreword, Dr Kalam wrote: “The book reveals perspectives to grow and provide food to the people wherever they live on Earth, backed by Dr Dar’s own experiences in multiple countries. I am particularly impressed with the Chapter Innovate, Grow and Prosper where he deals with strategic science and dynamic development.”

The book, co-written by Arun Tiwari, is divided into four parts: (1) Soil and Roots, (2) Stems, Leaves and Fruits, (3) Skin of the Earth, and (4) Growth and Prosperity, corresponding to Dr Dar’s rise from national to regional and international agricultural research-for-development.

The book, which was also unveiled at ICRISAT Patancheru by the DG along with a showing of the video on 9 February, is published by Orient Black Swan and will soon be available at major bookstores in India.