A special lecture entitled, ‘From Books to the Field: Entrepreneurship Development through Startups in the Agriculture Sector’ was organized by the Department of Agricultural Economics, CoA, JAU, Junagadh, on November 20, 2024. Altogether, 150 students from the seventh semester B. Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture and PG students of various disciplines of the college participated. Shri Vanraj Bhakharani, Founder and CFO, Krushisarang Agriclinic Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, served as the expert speaker. The event was indeed special as Krushisarang was a JAU-enabled startup established by its students in 2021-22. The lecture covered a variety of areas, including the differences between self-employment, business and startups, entrepreneurial mindset, strategies to identify potential avenues for startups, and management and marketing strategies for running the startups successfully.

     Besides, Shri Vanraj, the resource person, shared his dynamic experiences in running the Krushisarang Agriclinic. Recounting the early days of the establishment of his firm, he shared the difficulties faced in convincing the farmers and converting them as loyal customers-cum-brand ambassadors. The importance of team building in managing any enterprise was also vividly discussed with the students. The overarching objective of the lecture was to enhance entrepreneurial inclination among the students, motivating them to explore the opportunities in the agricultural sector. The joy and responsibility of being a job creator instead of a job seeker were also impressed upon the students with lively anecdotes and experiences of the speaker.

     In the question-and-answer session, the students enthusiastically interacted with the speaker and raised queries on several grassroots issues, including the market size of the seed sector in the Saurashtra region and Gujarat state, recent foray of the company into agri-input markets, entrepreneurial opportunities in organic/natural farming, and the kind of competition to be faced by the newcomers from the already established companies/big companies in the market. There was a freewheeling discussion on the overall turnover of the company as well. During the feedback session, the participating students expressed their satisfaction with the special lecture, which provided them with fresh insights into the world of startups in agriculture. The students thanked the speaker for his interest and time in readily sharing his practical knowledge without any inhibition that was beyond the scope of the textbooks. Dr. P. D. Kumawat, Principal and Dean, and Dr. V. D. Tarpara, Prof. & Head, Deptt. of Agril. Economics thanked the speaker for his engaging lecture and appreciated the students for their proactive participation. The event was coordinated by Dr. B. Swaminathan and Shri M. G. Umat of the department.

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