Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, UNCDF team up to make India global agri-tech leader

New Delhi [India], April 20 : Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) on Thursday jointly launched a whitepaper aimed at making India a global leader in agritech innovation and expanding these innovations to the least developed countries in Asia and Africa.
The whitepaper, meticulously prepared by experts from AIM, NITI Aayog, and UNCDF, offers actionable steps to overcome challenges faced by Agri-Tech start-ups and facilitate their growth at national and international levels, according to a statement from NITI Aayog.
The whitepaper outlines the significant observations and recommendations required to tackle challenges in the agriculture sector and promote sustainable practices that support smallholder farmers across developing economies. According to the statement, agritech innovations will help address food security, supply chain inefficiencies, and climate change concerns.
Samuel Praveen Kumar, joint secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said, "Agri-tech startups in India have emerged as a game-changer in the agriculture sector, offering innovative solutions to the emerging challenges in Agriculture like Climate change, Improving Productivity etc. The AIM-UNCDF Agri-tech challenge has uncovered the immense promise and potential of this market, and we are excited to see what the future holds."
Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission, Chintan Vaishnav, said "The agriculture sector is critical to food security, supply chain efficiency, and climate change mitigation, and the Agri-Tech start-ups in India have provided significant solutions to these challenges." He said, "Through this partnership with UNCDF, we aim to facilitate cross-border engagement, knowledge exchange, and investments to support high-impact Agri-Tech innovations and make agriculture practices efficient, resilient, and sustainable for smallholder farmers..."
Jaspreet Singh, global lead for Financial health and Innovation in UNCDF, said, "The learnings from the Agri-tech challenge have been immense and revealed that the market is enormous and has immense potential for global south-south collaboration. Moving forward, we are working towards creating a community platform for smallholder farmers."