The AgHub operates in a hub and spoke model
Prof Jyashankar, Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), has recently launched its agri innovation hub, AgHub. The hub was formally inaugurated by Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, in the presence of Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy, and other officials.
AgHub operates in a hub and spoke model, where the innovation hub headquartered on the PJTSAU campus supports agritech start-ups through ‘Innovation-Incubation-Acceleration’ of the start-ups across the country, whereas the rural innovation spokes in Jagtial, Warangal and Vikarabad would cater to the promotion of rural entrepreneurship.
The rural entrepreneurship for building agribusiness enterprises promoted by rural youth, women, farmers and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) would cater to the last mile delivery of innovations. They would also act as agritech innovation pilots, help capacity-building of FPOs and building FPO-led enterprises for building up crop value chains in select by-crops of Telangana.
As very few agri graduates and postgraduates have inclined towards agri-preneurship as well the emerging opportunities in the startup ecosystem, PJTSAU has created AgHub, a first-of-its-kind innovation hub to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, university officials said.
The officials stated that the AgHub would focus on three core areas — innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem through the promotion of startups, which includes sensitisation, ideation, innovation grants, incubation, acceleration and seed funding; research ecosystem through the promotion of translational research to post-graduates, PhD scholars and scientists; and finally, rural innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem through the promotion of rural entrepreneurs and FPOs.
Recognising the need to foster an entrepreneurial climate in Telangana, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) gave a grant of Rs 9 crore to PJTSAU in April 2021 this year for a five-year programme. AgHub is a NABARD-funded incubator under its Rural Business Incubation Scheme.
