Future Agricultural Leaders of India (FALI), an initiative supported by agribusiness organizations to make agriculture attractive to the next generation, is expanding. operates to states like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana.
FALI has been operating in Maharashtra and Gujarat at several government-supported schools for more than nine years now, providing technical knowledge and practical experience to 9th and 10th grade students in agriculture and business. agriculture and related fields, imparting to them technical, business and leadership skills.
Plan for the next 3 years
“We will start in Indore in Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming school year in July. We are going deep into Maharashtra in 21 districts and five districts of Gujarat. Over the next three years, we plan to go to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka,” said Nancy Berry, President of NBA Enterprise Solutions to Poverty, who leads the FALI initiative.
FALI currently works with 13,000 students in Maharashtra and Gujarat and has attracted more students every year. The majority of parents of FALI students are small farmers with less than 5 acres of land and up to 5 animals. It has an alumni base of over 33,000 students.
“Many FALI students further their education in agriculture and related subjects and have applied innovative methods to their family farms and villages,” says Barry. Companies participating in this initiative are offering internships and scholarships to FALI alumni in addition to helping them incubate their ideas through a small venture capital fund.
Create leaders
FALI is a part 8 company incorporated in January 2021 and is led and supported by leading agribusiness organizations such as Godrej Agrovet, Jain Irrigation, UPL, Omnivore, Star Agri and Rallis India among others other organization. “We will extend this initiative to States closer to Maharashtra and then apply it across India. We want more active members. As we get more support, we will spread all over India.” Nadir Godrej, President and CEO, Godrej Industries and President, Godrej Agrovet Ltd.
Anil Jain, Vice President and CEO, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd, said: “This initiative aims to create leaders who can set an example for others to follow in other countries. villages and rural areas. Agriculture is not only interesting but also worth the investment and can be considered as a business. The idea is to bring a completely different perspective to agriculture and we think that is only possible when you train young minds from farming families,” says Jain.
Practical and technical knowledge of agriculture in addition to business skills is imparted to FALI students during the two years of the program. “We are asking them to come up with new business ideas. In addition, we conduct competition based on the consideration of agriculture as a business or any agricultural-related products and services. Students who do well will be invited to our headquarters in Jalgaon, where they have the opportunity to showcase their innovation,” said Jain.
