SHILLONG, June 24: The first North East FPO and Associated Investors’ Conclave, 2023 kicked off at College of Post-Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Umiam. It is being organised by the Central Agricultural University, Imphal in collaboration with ICAR, Deendayal Research Institute – New Delhi, ICAR ATARI Zone –VI, Guwahati, ICAR ATARI Zone –VII, Umiam, Meghalaya and NABARD.
Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said that the state government is looking for partnership with ICAR and CAU to uplift the livelihood of farmers. She emphasised that the university should produce the agricultural students as entrepreneurs not job seekers.
Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), Dr. Himanshu Pathak, addressed the gathering and discussed the achievements in agriculture.
In these 3-day event of the university, different central, state agricultural institutions, agripreneurs/entrepreneurs, traders, investors, FPOs/ FBOs, innovators, NGOs, start-ups, progressive farmers, students from IIT, IIM and CAU (I) are to showcase their achievements, innovations and business plans to make the North East Region economically vibrant and a business hub among the South East Asian Countries. During this event, FPO/ FBO meet, investors/ entrepreneurs meet, buyer-seller meet, exhibition and interaction and presentation from reputed experts and students are the major focus on investment in agriculture and allied sectors for the region.
The participation of various potential investors from different parts of the country in this event, hopefully, promotes investment opportunities and mobilise resources for the development of FPOs/FBOs in the North East region. Buyer-Seller Meet or B2B (business to business) meet is important for FPOs/FBOs in North East India as they provide a platform for FPOs/FBOs to directly engage with buyers and negotiate fair prices for their agricultural produce by knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration, and creating awareness about the role and impact of FPOs/FBOs in the agricultural sector.
