EEI Hyderabad organized four days off Campus training programme on Approaches and Strategies for Start-ups and Emerging Technologies in Horticulture Centre of Excellence (CoE), Maddur, Karnataka from 17 th – 20 th January, 2024

The training program on Approaches and Strategies for Start-ups and Emerging Technologies in Horticulture is crucial for fostering innovation, sustainability, and business acumen in the horticultural sector. It equips participants with essential skills, knowledge, and insights, catalysing the growth of start-ups and promoting advancements in horticultural technologies. This training program is vital for start-ups in horticulture, offering insights into effective approaches and strategies. It provides a platform for entrepreneurs to navigate emerging technologies, fostering innovation and sustainability. Participants gain essential skills, enhancing their ability to thrive in the dynamic horticultural landscape. In accordance with the above importance, EEI Hyderabad organized four days off Campus training programme on Approaches and Strategies for Start-ups and Emerging Technologies in Horticulture Centre of Excellence (CoE), Maddur, Karnataka from 17th – 20th January, 2024. Contents covered in the programme were – Scope of Agri tech and Horticulture Start-ups and Unicorns in India, Government Programmes, initiatives and schemes in promoting MSMSE in Horticulture Sector, Time management for Professional Excellence, Incubators and its Management Strategies to promote start-ups in Horticulture Sector, Business Opportunities and Business plan Preparation for beginners of Start-ups in Horticulture Sector, Orientation on programmes and Schemes of CFTRI, Stress Management Skills, Gender Budgeting and Mainstreaming of Gender. A field Visit was organised to Central Food Technological and Research Institute, Mysuru. CFTRI Mysore was visited to Understand their Technology Development in Horticulture Sector. The Institute has a separate section on development of technologies on fruit and vegetable value addition and has developed more than 150 technologies. The Institute offers capacity building in the form of demonstrations of technologies in a span of 2-4 weeks to start ups against payment of a fee. Once capacity building is done the start-ups can incubate for a period of 6-8 months with the institute. Once the start-up establishes itself into a business model. CFTRI provides technical support for a period of 7 years. Apart from knowing the process of Registration and entry of Start-ups the participants also got to see the Show Cased Technologies of CFTRI during the visit. During hands on training, Simulation Exercises, Brain Teasers, Energisers, Quiz and google forms were used. During inauguration, Deputy Director, CoE Maddur, welcomed the participants and introduced them to the activities of CoE Maddur, He told them the rules and regulations of accommodation and urged the participants to pay complete attention and take home as much of learnings as possible. During valedictory, Deputy Director, CoE Maddur, expressed his immense happiness over the conduct of the programme and informed the participants to utilise the learnings by implementing them at their work place. He also gave a presentation of technologies and inputs developed by CoE, Maddur and requested the participants to make use of them. The participants expressed that all of them had never attended any training programme organized by EEI Hyderabad and hence felt it to be very different and relaxing than other programmes. Regarding content, they felt that more sessions could be included by increasing the duration to 7 days. Sessions on Gender Budgeting and Time Management were liked by many. Visit to CFTRI was appreciated. A total of 30 trainees participated from Department of Horticulture, Karnataka. The programme was coordinated by Dr. M. Preethi and Dr. P. Vijaya Lakshmi Professors, EEI, Hyderabad. The training programme incurred an approximate expenditure of Rs.70,000.00