World class Farm to Fork ecosystem to be established in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam will soon be equipped with a Farm to Fork ecosystem as per an agreement signed by Gastrotope with the government of Andhra Pradesh.

Gastrotope, the agrifood startup accelerator found by Taizo Son’s Mistletoe, Rajesh Sawhney and Infobridge, would now collaborate with the AP Govt to provide proper infrastructures such as test fields for agriculture, incubation space and an acceleration programme in Visakhapatnam. The programme commits to invest 10 Million Dollars for 10 Startups in 2018.

The main objective of the programme is to facilitate and nurture startups in the field of Agritech and Foodtech in Andhra Pradesh. The AP Innovation Society will be coordinating the project from the government’s side.

The program is aiming to accept around 10 startups in 2018 and the two authorities have set a budget of Rs 50 crore to invest in each of them.

Gastrotope co-founder Rajesh Sawhney said that their main vision is to create world’s best “Farm to Fork” tech ecosystem within India and the partnership will be a mark milestone in this direction. He also said that Andhra Pradesh is among the most progressive states in India with a forward-looking leadership which recognizes the potential of innovation enabled with technology in agriculture and economy. He mentioned that he is thrilled to join hands with the state government and aims to co-establish the future of India’s food economy. “These startups would add value to various parts of the value chain, starting with farmers and moving to food transportation, processing and delivery to and consumption by customers. India has a rich food culture and our main objective is to nurture and grow India’s farm economy”, Rajesh added.

AP Innovation Society CEO Prof. V.Valli Kumari said, “We are extremely happy to partner with Gastrotope in building our startup ecosystem in Agri context.”

Credits: Dailyhunt