An orientation programme on “Entrepreneurial opportunities focusing on Gulf Returnees, women and farmers in light of COVID-19 pandemic” was organized on 15-16th March 2021 at CAbC, Wayanad. The aim of the programme was to orient the participants towards entrepreneurial prospects in Wayanad. A total of 21 participants registered for the programme with a diverse group of gulf returnees, women and farmers who were willing to start an enterprise in future.
The programme commenced with a welcome session by Mr. Sivan, Senior Scientist, CAbC in presence of Dr. Anil Kumar, Senior Director, CAbC where he gave an overview of the programme. Dr. Anil Kumar interacted with the participants and threw light on the opportunities and prospects in entrepreneurship especially in the agriculture & allied sector. For the first session, Mr. Kuruvila, a successful agripreneur shared his experiences with the trainees regarding his successful venture in coffee and integrated farming. The session was followed by a farm exposure visit to his farm, ‘Rose Garden Estate’ which was a great experience for prospective entrepreneurs.
Mr. Ajit Kumar opened the next session focusing on the diverse market needs in organic and value-added products emphasizing on the existing business opportunities in agriculture sector and online marketing trends. Mr. Sasidharan Nair, Financial Literacy Council handled a very significant and useful session on financial literacy and informed about various employment generation related government schemes to participants. Dr. John Abraham, KVASU gave some interesting insights on entrepreneurship opportunities in the Livestock and Animal husbandry sector that were appreciated by the participants. The session concluded with an informative talk by Mr. Ayyapan from District Industries Centre on various entrepreneurship promoting schemes of the government. Participants gave very positive feedback regarding the sessions and topics covered but wanted to have a longer programme with more focused sessions and more participants. Mr. Joseph John, Scientist, CAbC concluded the programme by thanking all the attendees for their feedback and participation. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Archana Bhatt, Scientist, CAbC, Mr. Habeeb and Ms Telna.