Indian agriculture represents a vast landscape ripe for innovation, with the potential to profoundly influence the health and economic prosperity of billions while also positively impacting the environment at scale. With this in mind, in 2018, MIF launched its first sector-specific initiative, #Innovate2Cultivate, focussing on cross-learning, and pilot opportunities to scale innovations for three stakeholder categories: farmers, agri-innovators, and leading corporations in agri-business.
Leveraging Marico’s seasoned leadership in the coconut products industry, the #Innovate2Cultivate initiative focussed on innovations to boost productivity and double incomes for coconut farmers. MIF scouted 500+ agripreneurs across India, of which 37 were shortlisted to be part of the program. Six breakthrough innovations were finally identified, and innovators received field immersion experiences, expert knowledge from agronomists, access to farmers for piloting their innovations, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities with large corporates.
