It seemed very unlikely that a start-up in agriculture would stand a chance against start-ups in IT and engineering that included 3D printing of almost anything that one could think of. Teams of doctors and engineers are already working on systems and materials to ‘print’ human blood vessels like arteries and veins to make bypass surgeries a one-step process, not requiring surgery to remove a matching part from elsewhere in the body.
In 2022, young, home grown agriculture graduate from a college in Goa, Liza Pinheiro, changed all that. She won the ‘Business Diva’ award for the best start-up of the year. Her exposure to the ‘Experiential Learning’ at college and also the ‘Earn While You Learn’ projects had exposed her and other students to entrepreneurial possibilities. Hopefully, these courses that are now a part of the curriculum in general stream undergraduate courses under NEP 2020 will have a similar impact.
This year, the Agriculture Committee of Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) recently facilitated the maiden ‘Agri Start-up Conclave’ together with the Krishik Agri Business Incubation Centre of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. As an alumnus of UAS-Dharwad and current chairman of the GCCI Agriculture Committee, Mahesh Patil had the force multiplier impact. He roped in a number of business incubation centres operating silently in Goa, largely unknown to the students and young graduates who are busy searching for jobs. It was an eye-opener for the attending students and professionals.
The Government of India has a number of schemes to support start-ups from the concept stage to its fruition as a profitable enterprise. All one needs is a dream and the restlessness to work and make it come true. Even matchmaking of the ‘Founder’ with a suitable ‘Mentor’ is possible just like a marriage bureau. In business, divorce and remarriage is as common as in the West, and as acceptable.
Starting in 2009 with the cashew feni which even has its own conformity assessment board (CAB) to certify products from 2025, the State of Goa has ten ‘Geographical Indications’ or GI to its name. The process is on to get the GI amended to include the coconut feni. This idea came about only because Shweta Gaonkar has given a boost to toddy tapping by being both, an inspiration as the only Rendeira, or Goan lady in toddy tapping today, and also by training youth to follow her lead.
Hansel Vaz now has a steady supply of toddy to make coconut feni. Hansel is already marketing pre-mixed feni-based cocktails in Bengaluru under the brand name of Mr Jerry’s ‘El Classico’. That is quite literally the spirit of entrepreneurship; the ‘message in a bottle’ for wannabe start-ups. A proposal to register a GI for the Benaulim coconut is being prepared. Its tender coconut water, virgin coconut oil (VCO), neero, toddy and feni can become exclusively Goan. VCO is already a successful start-up of OldGoa Oils that has marketed a great story.
Pork is the essential ingredient for Goa sausages or Choris and there is a ready market for GOYA hybrid pig, with the Agonda Boar and the Large White Yorkshire (LWY) sow as its parents, developed by ICAR-CCARI at Old Goa. The Agonda Boar is a registered breed of pig identified in Goa. A modern piggery for piglets and pork is a start-up idea that has not been fully explored. Bebinca and Khajem have GI and the Goan Choris application is under process. Young entrepreneurs in Goa have many things going for them if they can build up their brand of their own.
Mankurad has had GI since 2023 and on May 25, 2024, it became the first mango of Goan origin to be exported from Goa. If we do not scale-up production in Goa, Mopa airport will be swamped with mangoes from neighbouring districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka because Mumbai and Bengaluru international airports are double the distance from the mango growing regions.
The Agriculture Committee of Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) has already facilitated negotiations with the GMR that operated the Mopa International Airport in Goa. We have a great start-up opportunity in Goa. One can even explore a start-up in handling the ripening and logistics for export of mangoes and other fruits from neighbouring States through Mopa airport. If you have an idea that you are willing to work on, just Google for a business incubation centre near you. Goa has quite a few of them, including one each in Margao, Vasco, Verna, Old Goa, Assagao and Sanquelim. There are endless possibilities.
(The writer, former Agricultural Officer and a mentor to the GenNext organic farmers, is committed to nurturing young talent for a food-secure future)
