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Jammu Tawi: The Future of Agriculture Leaders in India (FALI), an initiative supported by leading agribusiness entities – Godrej Agrovet Ltd, UPL, Jain Irrigation, StarAgri, Rallis etc. – to make agriculture attractive for the next generation held its 9th Annual Convention at Jalgaon's Jain Hills. Bringing together over 1,000 school children and grooming them into the future leaders of Indian agriculture and agribusiness, the convention was hosted by Jain Irrigation.
Having empowered over 13,000 students, the goal of FALI and the programme was to make agriculture attractive to the next generation. As part of the programme, rural students participated in interactive classroom sessions and practicums. They had regular field visits, webinars and FALI Innovation films to expose them to innovations in agriculture and agro-enterprise; and they competed in business plan and innovation contests, with the winners getting to go to the annual FALI Convention.
The Association for Future Agriculture Leaders of India is a Section 8 company. Its directors are: Nadir Godrej, Chairman & MD of Godrej Industries Ltd and Chairman, Godrej Agrovet Ltd.; Rajju Shroff, Chairman of UPL; Anil Jain, Deputy Chair and CEO of Jain Irrigation which hosts the annual FALI Conventions; and Nancy Barry, President of NBA Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. The major CSR contributors to FALI are Godrej Agrovet Ltd, UPL, Jain Irrigation, StarAgri, Rallis and Omnivore, with several other leading agribusinesses and banks likely to join in supporting FALI this fiscal year. Nadir Godrej, Chairman & MD of Godrej Industries Ltd and Chairman, Godrej Agrovet Ltd., who led the Working Group which created FALI and served as the Founding Chair, says: “Last year, when Godrej Agrovet Ltd. pioneered the FALI alumni internships, our managers were deeply impressed with the knowledge, maturity and passion of alumni who had just completed 12 standard, most exceeding performance of university students who have been interns at our company. We would be interested in hiring most of these interns when they complete their higher education.”
Rajju Shroff, who chaired the FALI 8 Convention, says, “I am deeply impressed with the knowledge of FALI students, the quality of their business plans and their passion for modern agriculture.