Dr U S Awasthi of IFFCO & Dr Deepak Shah of Sulphur Mills awarded ABSA Lifetime Achievement Awards

HYDERABAD, 8 August 2021: Dr U.S Awasthi, MD of IFFCO, the world's largest pesticides cooperative and Dr Deepak Shah, CMD of Sulphur Mills who is known as the Sulphur Man of India will be honoured with "ABSA Lifetime Achievement Awards for the years 2020 and 2021". 

Both these tallest corporate leaders and messiahs of rural farmers have put in 50 plus years of yeoman service to the Agriculture Industry and the nation.

Both are 70 plus years old and regarded very highly in the India Agri Industry announced Dr Kalpana Sastry MD of Ag Hub Foundation, Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University, (PJTSAU) at a Press Conference on behalf of the Jury comprised of S Siva Kumar Group Head Agri and IT Businesses – ITC Chairman Technico Agri Sciences Limited, Vice Chairman ITC Infotech India;  Ram Kaundinya Founder – ThinkAg(platform for Agri and Food innovation), Ex MD Cyanamide, Advanta Seeds; Dr K Chandra Shekara Director General – National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE);  Dr Joanna Kane Potaka, Assistant Director-General ICRISAT.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Dr U S Awasthi, Managing Director IFFCO., will delve into "How Co-operatives can build a strong and sustainable agribusiness model" and Dr Deepak Shah, Chairman Sulphur Mills Ltd., will be speaking on "Future Trends - Innovation in Agriculture for building Atmanirbhar Bharat". 

A high profile panel discussion "Agriculture was the silver lining in Covid times, how do we convert to golden opportunity" will be held and it will be moderated by Mr Siva Kumar Director, ITC.. The most eminent professionals from the industry will be the panellists. 

A Hyderabad based top-notch agri consulting company, RAY Consulting is organising Agri-Business Summit on 2nd September at Park Hyatt Hyderabad.  ABSA Life Time Awards for the years 2020 and 2021 will be presented during the summit.  Both the recipients have consented to be present in person in Hyderabad at the Agri-Business Summit to receive the industry recognition bestowed on them.   Besides them, few distinguished professionals in the agriculture industry will also be recognised for their professional excellence and outstanding contribution to the industry informed Mr. Raj Kumar Agarwal, Founder & Managing Partner of Ray Consulting.

Talking to the media Ram Kaundinya Founder – ThinkAg (platform for Agri and Food innovation), Ex MD Cyanamide, Advanta Seeds, one of the jury members said there are so many awards.  Awards are in every category.  More and more cine stars are given away awards.

But, there are no Awards for Agri Professionals in AgriScience, Scientists and Agri Input Industry.  Not many Padma Awards are given to the Agri Sector. The Agri industry is undergoing a huge transformation. The recipients are chosen through a most robust and credible process, he said.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Joanna Kane Potaka, Assistant Director-General ICRISAT spoke about the role of women in agriculture. Not 50 percent representation is enough but we need their 100% participation, she said.

She spoke about the triple bottom line.  What we do in ICRISAT follows this principle.  Is what we do is good for the planet, good for sustainability and good for farmers.

Raj Kumar interfering here on the Role of Women in Agri, he said 70% of students of Indian Agri Universities are girls.  The Agri sector is emerging as the most attractive now to women too, he added.

S Siva Kumar Group Head Agri and IT Businesses – ITC Chairman Technico Agri Sciences Limited, Vice Chairman ITC Infotech India said during the GDP of Pandemic Indian Industry shrank more than 7 percent, service industry shrank 8 percent. On the whole, the GDP shrank 7 percent thanks to the Agri sector which grew by 3 percent as all Lockdowns exempted Agriculture.  This has provided a Silverline.  Unlocking Agriculture worked well for us.  Governments also reformed agri laws. More investments poured in, more innovations, digital technologies all put together contributed immensely to the growth of the Agri sector despite other sectors shrinking. 

He said the per capita earnings of the farmers are one fourth compared to other professions.  While growing more agri products, we have been rapidly consuming our natural resources.  As of 8th August, we are overshooting the consumption.  We have already consumed natural resources that we are supposed to be consuming by December 31, 2021. 

 

Climate change is playing havoc on agriculture which is creating production risk.  So the Agri Summit which will be held in September will look into multiple perspectives.  And we will come out with a meaningful action plan for the nation, Shivkumar shared.

Over 200 Senior Corporate Executives, Industry Captains from over 150 companies will participate in the Summit. Over 200 nominations from top-notch companies are received for the awards.

The Summit shall host high profile, decision-makers and influencers from the Agri Inputs industry (Agro Chemicals, Nutrition, Bio Ag, Seeds, irrigation, farm mechanization, Precision Ag), researchers, management education, Government, Finance, Universities, Social inclusion etc. Speakers, bankers, policymakers, venture capitalists, start-ups and trendsetters from Agri Industry will all be here

 The unpredictability of the Agriculture domain, due to various factors including untimely and erratic monsoon creates challenges in planning, strategizing, marketing linkages, national and international business scenarios, trade barriers, regulations etc., The leaders in this space shoulder this responsibility with grit and determination. Professionals can learn many things from each other's experiences. Hence the Summit holds a lot of professional interest for the peers in the industry. 

Agri Awards is an annual feature that honours the achievements and shares the success stories of organisations, enterprises, institutions and individuals that are actively involved in boosting economic growth and achieving milestones in this sector.

 All the input categories of Water, Seeds, Nutrition, Pesticides, Bio Organics, Plant Growth Regulators etc., will be recognized and awarded.