India, traditionally being an agrarian country, has a 17 percent contribution to the national GDP coming from agriculture, and 60 percent of rural households depend on agriculture and the allied sector for their livelihood. The Agriculture sector in India is lagging in productivity as compared to many developed countries even after having the second largest arable land (160 million hectares) in the world. Climate change and biodiversity imbalance are a few issues further affecting productivity.
To foster the growth in Indian agriculture and align it with the national mission of the Government of India in “doubling the farmer’s income”, Subhash Chandra Foundation is committed to bring in the best practices and state of the art technologies in the agriculture sector. In a series of steps that are being taken in this direction by the foundation include building think tank forums ‘Krishi Kranti’, strategic engagements with research institutes and universities within India and globally.
The Subhash Chandra Foundation has inked a partnership with the Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Netherlands to facilitate the transformation of Indian agriculture and allied sectors to achieve sustainable agriculture development which is aligned with the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Chairman, ZEE & Essel Group, Shri Subhash Chandra said, “We hear the youth getting into Engineering, Marketing, Management, but we don’t hear them getting in to Agriculture, the sector where India has been a major exporter. The partnership with Wageningen University will accelerate agriculture sector growth, make the sector more lucrative for the youth & the coming generations to be gainfully employed in it.”
The objective of the partnership with Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Netherlands is to create sustainable impact on the agri-business and develop models which are replicable with geographical adjustments. The models which are likely to emerge out of this partnership will be widely circulated and demonstrated for rapid adoption and multiplication.
Under the leadership of Shri Subhash Chandra, the Foundation is establishing a new face of philanthropy to achieve sustainable agricultural development and act as a change maker in rural transformation.
