The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Centre, ICAR- Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research (DOGR), Pune successfully organized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with selected candidates invited under ABI- project for incubation on 30^th March 2026 (Monday) at 10:30 AM at ICAR-DOGR, Pune.

The programme was conducted in a hybrid mode under the chairmanship of Dr. Vijay Mahajan , Director, ICAR-DOGR, Pune. The meeting was attended by esteemed members of the ABI Advisory Committee, including Dr. A. K. Sharma (ICAR-NRC Grapes), Dr. Manohar B. Dhadwad (MPKV, Rahuri), Mr. Shantanu Jagtap (MCCIA, Pune), Mr. Sarvesh Ghangale (The Farm, Pune), Dr. Kalyani Gorrepati (ICAR-DOGR), Dr. Bhushan Bibwe (ICAR-DOGR), and Dr. Rajiv B. Kale (ICAR-DOGR).

The event commenced with an welcome address by Dr. Rajiv B. Kale , In-charge, ABI Project, who highlighted the pivotal role of the ABI Centre in fostering a conducive ecosystem for entrepreneurs, farmers and start-ups. He emphasized the Centre’s commitment towards promoting agri-entrepreneurship, facilitating the establishment of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and strengthening value addition in the agriculture sector.

During the programme, MoUs were signed with three selected incubatees representing diverse agri-business ventures. Before Signing MoUs, these incubates delivered presentations of Detailed Project report. The incubatees are:

Dr. Vijay Mahajan , Director, ICAR-DOGR, Pune, formally signed the MoUs with the representatives of the incubating entities and extended his warm welcome to all incubatees. He expressed confidence that the incubation support provided by the institute would significantly contribute to the growth of innovative agri-enterprises.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Rajiv Kale congratulated all the selected incubatees and assured continuous technical and institutional support through the ABI Centre to strengthen their entrepreneurial ventures.

The programme concluded with a formal vote of thanks to the Chair and all the participants.