of mariculture in the country . He said sea cage farming of commercially important fish species such as silver pompano , cobia , groupers , lobsters etc . would help the country to increase its blue economy .
ICRISAT sets up hub for innovations in agriculture
An innovation Hub ( iHub ) was inaugurated at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ( ICRISAT ) recently .
At this facility , agricultural tech entrepreneurs , scientists and technology experts can collaborate to innovate cutting edge ideas across the whole agriculture value chain for smallholder farmers .
Agriculture in India is a $ 370 billion sector , but there is little application of technology to improve productivity and lift millions out of poverty , says ICRISAT .
Farmers face a multitude of problems like water shortage , declining soil fertility , effects of climate change and rapid decrease of fertile agricultural lands . Innovation is imperative if agriculture has to feed a rapidly growing population with fewer resources , it said .
Telangana ’ s Industry and IT Minister Mr K T Rama Rao and Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy launched the iHub at ICRISAT located at Patancheru in Telengana .
Spread over 10,000 square feet , iHub includes a 40-seater accelerator facility .
Mr Srinivas Reddy described it as an important development for the welfare of farmers and hoped that the innovations will help farmers reduce their investments and increase productivity .
“ I think the convergence of technology with the distressed sectors like agriculture , is the key to empowering our farmers and to improve productivity ,” said Mr Rama Rao .
To enhance and strengthen the strategic vision for iHub , a high level advisory council has been set up which includes Telangana ’ s Principal Secretary , Information Technology Jayesh Ranjan , Microsoft India Managing Director Anil Bhansali , T-Hub Senior Vice President Rama Iyer , Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University Vice Chancellor Praveen Rao , Principal Secretary , Agriculture , Parthasarathi , ICRISAT Director General David Bergvinson . Its convenor is Ram Dhulipala , Lead , Digital agriculture and youth at ICRISAT .
“ Entrepreneurs with passion are the ideal individuals to tackle problems using innovation and drive conversations at the intersection of agriculture , finance and IT . Promoting such intense collaborations between entrepreneurs and ICRISAT scientists is at the heart of the idea of iHub ,” said Bergvinson .
He said they already launched an international Agricultural Innovations Program with T-Hub and many AgriTech startups have shown interest in collaborating with them .
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