Participation AgriTech Bangalore

Last week (28-30 August 2017), a delegation of the HortiTechIndia consortium participated in one of India’s largest agricultural exhibitions (AgriTech) in Bangalore. In a joint Holland Pavillion, the companies explained to the Indian audience the concept of having an integrated value chain approach towards the production of vegetables in green houses. Besides, the companies spoke to the visitors to better understand the current practices and challenges present, gaining valuable insights in how we as a consortium can support and upgrade the sector in the following years of the project.

HortiTechIndia

The Netherlands is a global leader in greenhouse cultivation and protected cropping. The consortium “HortiTechIndia” consists of highly innovative Dutch companies and knowledge institutes operating in the horticulture sector. Together, we have the aim to collaborate with Indian partners to upgrade the quality of the Indian horticulture sector and thereby enhance productivity and profitability.

Round table session

To further introduce the consortium to the Indian audience, as well as to get further acquainted with the challenges the Indian sector faces, HortiTechIndia organized a round table session on August 29, in the Sheraton Grande hotel in Bangalore. The audience consisted of a broad mix of policymakers, producers, potential investors, scientists and retail players. HortiTechIndia is supported by the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the round table was opened by Mr. Renee Beerepoot, Chief representative of the Netherlands Business Support Office in Bangalore.

The session was opened with an introduction to the consortium, our vision of developing viable business models for India, ending with a short introduction to the concept of optimizing plant balances for optimal growth. Moreover, we took the chance to discuss with this unique audience on their needs for India. Topics that were discussed were amongst others ways to match retail demand with production, off-season production in greenhouses and financing opportunities. The evening ended with a networking dinner, in which the first steps for cooperation were discussed amongst the consortium and visitors.

Next steps

HortiTechIndia is looking to develop viable business models for the Indian sector, develop training to transfer the needed knowledge as to cooperate with Indian partners in demonstrating and realizing the above. Please stay in updated on further developments via our website or by sending an email to Linda Romijn.