Lucknow: 'Entrepreneurs must adopt agriculture business'

LUCKNOW: Entrepreneurs and industrialists were urged to opt for agriculture based businesses at the two-day long food expo inaugurated in Lucknow on Wednesday.
While chief minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to visit the event on Thursday, thousands of entrepreneurs, industrialists, stakeholders, scientists, researchers and senior government officials participated in the expo.
Chief scientist of Mysuru based CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) suggested that UP government needs to send a delegation to the institute to boost food industry business, while office bearers of Indian Industries Association (IIA) appealed to the UP government to launch an agriculture corridor in the state on the lines of defence corridor.
While additional production commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh hosted the guests through the day, director of fragrance and flavour development centre in Kannauj, Shakti Vinay Shukla made a strong presentation before the entrepreneurs and asked them to consider agriculture based businesses.
Sharing some achievements of the state, Shukla said that until 30 years ago mint was being imported in the country from China. From 2007, the government started to intervene and CSIR - Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) in Lucknow started developing indigenous species.
"And now, UP is the largest producer of mint (mentha oil) in the country as it generates 80% of the total production. We can proudly say that because of the strong will of the farmers, scientists and the government India has started exporting mint to other countries including China," he said.
President of IIA Ashok Kumar Agarwal and senior office bearers of the association appealed to the UP government to consider setting up clusters to promote agricultural activity and agriculture based businesses on the lines of defence corridor.
Meanwhile, chief scientist of CSIR Mysuru, Rajeshwar M said that three years ago the entire cabinet of Maharashtra had visited the campus on a chartered plane along with a group of senior IAS officers. "The group spent two days to understand the various kinds of work being done by the institute. Technology, marketing and financial viability are at the core of any successful venture. The UP government needs to be proactive in the field and needs to mentor the start-ups," said the senior scientist.