CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE & AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

13th to 15th March 2025 - Hyderabad

(In collaboration with ECHO, SALF, BPN)

The Day 1 of the 3 days Conference on Sustainable Agriculture & Agribusiness development started on 13th of March 2025, at 9 AM with around 90 participants from different parts of India.

The Inaugural session was hosted by Issac Emmanuel. The introduction to the conference was given by Patrick Trail, John Warton and Gladstone.

Thereafter the Biblical view of Agriculture and Business set the stage to understand and view the Business through the lens of Scriptures. This part of the conference was led by John Warton from the Book of Ruth chapter 2. He talked about, how Boaz was a Godly Man as well as a Great Manager. And because he was obedient to God, God blessed him beyond measure by using Boaz in the birth of Jesus Christ. John Warton concluded by saying that “Businesspeople can Build the Kingdom of God.” After the Bible reflection the participants gave a brief self-introduction, before starting Plenary Session I.

Plenary Session - I: Challenges faced by smallholder farmers by Patrick Trail

He presented people’s generic ideas about small scale farmers and progressed into the ways to understand small scale farmers, based on his own research. He introduced the participants to the 5 questions he used in his own personal research. Where the farmers all around Asia were asked to answer the same 5 questions.

The participants were divided into 5 teams and were given one question per team to work on. The mainquestion was, “What is the greatest challenge faced by the small-scale farmers?”

Many Participants came up with Technical, Natural and Social challenges. Patrick addressed 4 challengesfrom the responses given by most of the small-scale farmers based on his research. Markets or Marketing, Money or Debts, Land tenure or Land right and The Middle-Man.

Finally, He concluded that not all the Challenges are Technical. These are Heart issues and sin issues. From the finances to the ownership of the land, from the Middle - man to the marketing. Everything is filled with greed, selfishness and pride. Technical things and Love and Gospel go hand in hand in solving the small-scale farmers challenges and the need to show concern and help small scale farmers.

Breakout Workshops: 3 PM to 3.30 PM

Every workshop had its own valuable information and expertise. Participants were given a choice to join any of the four workshops. Led by Gideon, Samuel Foose, John Warton, and Isaac Emmanuel.

1. Beekeeping and Honey production as enterprises (Gideon).

Gideon started with History of Beekeeping and how it was introduced in India and talked about how Honey is a free resource from God like all the other resources such as Water, Air, Soil etc… And The benefits of Beekeeping; Pollination (Fertilization), Bee venom, Bee wax and Honey etc..

2. Preparation of Bio pesticides and Bio fertilizers (Samuel Foose).

Samuel shared the various methods of preparation of bio pesticides and Bio fertilizers. Including the benefits of using microbes in Natural farming.

3. Making realistic business plans (John Warton).

John Warton explained how to make a business plan that actually works. When he was asked how to start a business without investment, He answered “find a way to get started. Investment is not the only way to start a business.” It begins with what you have rather than what others have to offer.

4. Usage of Solar equipment in Agriculture (Isaac Emmanuel).

Isaac Abraham shared the benefits of Solar equipment in Agriculture such as cost reduction, ecofriendly etc.. And there are many uses of solar equipment in farming such as farm machinery, Water management or Irrigation, cold storages, lighting etc.

Plenary Session - II: 3.45 PM to 4.15 PM

This part of the Conference was a Panel Discussion with five members;

Anthony, Samuel Foose, Hadassah, Jonathan Chavan and Gladstone. The Panelists discussed the Church's role in Agriculture & Agribusiness development.

The discussion brought so much insight, enlightenment to see the concept of Agriculture and Business from the Scripture’s point of view. It was discussed that the lack of awareness and genuine information among the believers and church members was the reason for the church to remain as an outsider to the business world.

Furthermore, It was said that the solution is to know that God has given the land for us to prune and work it and take care of it by encouraging and equipping each other in love and unity as the body of Christ. There is a need for a change of heart towards making healthy choices in our Food and Lifestyle.

Finally, everything was summed up in one statement from Ephesians 3:10, God chose the Church to reveal the manifold wisdom to the world. So, the Church must be having the solutions for all the problems on the planet, is the will of God.

Case Studies:

There were 2 case studies which were presented by Ajay Kuruvilla and Samuel Foose (Wellspring farm).

Both the Case studies reflected the Goodness and Faithfulness of God.These helped participants to bring back their hopes on natural farming with the number of benefits as well as

the simple yet effective ways of farming. These studies proved that natural farming can be easy, effective and eco-friendly. This helps in building relationships with locals and helps them get involved as well as an employment opportunity.

Day 2 - 14th March 2025: John Warton Bible reflection on 1 Thessalonians 4:11,12.

He spoke on how business is a blessing and a effective testimony among the outsiders and we may have the need for nothing. Furthermore, he stated “The first purpose of Business is not to get comfortable or wealthy but to have a good testimony of God’s goodness & faithfulness and help/serve people.” He concluded with the statement that “Businesspeople create jobs, impact and be a blessing to others.”

Plenary Session III: Agro ecological approaches for health & perpetual sustainability in the context of constraints like climate change.

This session was from 10.50 AM to 11.45 AM by Thomas Abraham. He explained the reasons for climate change such as wasting water, Agrochemicals, Air pollution, etc. He also stated that the population is increasing, and resources are decreasing drastically. And Natural farming is the only way to detoxify the farmlands of India. He shared 4 rules or principles on getting back to natural farming; promoting or maintaining diversity, soil tilling, recycling and multi storied structure.

The next session on Market development, wellbeing and prosperity of smallholder farmers by Kiran Ajit Kujur started at 11.45 to 1 PM. He shared that farmers must be educated on marketing for their growth to portray a promising future to their children that Agriculture is sustainable and reliable.

Sudhakar Rao shared a small session on Sericulture, along with its benefit in offering self-employment and reliability.

Breakout Workshops:

There were 4 breakout workshops. Each workshop was 20 minutes long. From 2 PM to 3.15 PM.

1.Innovation & low-cost techniques in Natural farming by Samuel Foose.

Samuel spoke that "From plantation to cultivation there are vast opportunities to be innovative as well as inexpensive.” And that Natural Farming is a God-honoring method of farming. He shared on how natural fertilizers, such as compost, microbes and respraying the weed juice on the plants etc. can be cost effective.

2.Community seed banking by Patrick Trail.

Patrick Trail explained how community seed banking works and the necessity of seed banking; to preserve crop loss, varieties of seeds etc. There are mainly two systems: formal and informal seed banking. Both the systems have some advantages and disadvantages. In order to achieve the balance, there is a need for a bridge between two systems such as seed exchanging, encouraging to breed other varieties of seeds, improvements in local system seeds etc. Participants had some questions regarding pest control in seed banking. He addressed it with multiple options such as using ash, botanical treatments, vacuum sealing by

removing humidity etc.

3.Food processing as a profitable enterprise by Jeen Singh.

Jeen Singh started by sharing the two chains in food processing and marketing, that are value chain and supply chain. He also stated that there is a need for the value chain in Agriculture to benefit the farmers and that there is significant demand for food products in the market. He also shared some bank and government schemes in providing funds to the farmers or food producers for pre-production, postproduction and for marketing. The Q&A at the end included questions from participants regarding discrimination based on religion and delay in banks and government schemes. Jeen answered there are multiple mediums online through which one can apply for funds such as Jansamarth portal, PACS portal etc.

4.Essential oil production (Lemon grass etc.) by Ashit.

Ashit shared that tribal or rural people can also be a part in production by making products such as turmeric soaps, essential oils from lemongrass and other resources and can make income of INR 1000/- to 4000/-. These soaps and oils are further sent to a company for testing, designing, marketing and advertising. He stated that rural people don’t have industries but can be involved in processing primary resources from home. This helps in having self-employment and reliability.

Plenary Session IV:

This part of the conference was a panel discussion. John Warton, Anthony, and Jeen Singh were the members and Gladstone was the host. The discussion was on Funding Opportunities for involvement in natural farming & business. The panelists discussed multiple things such as types of investment opportunities, funds without collateral, banks and interest rates, platforms to avail funds and to assist churches with business. Various factors such as shelf life, quality, supply etc. are considered in the investment process for agribusiness. Since there is an increased demand for organic products in the market, both farmers and investors can benefit.

The bank is funding a good amount of money for the farmers. The banker always approves the fund based on two major factors, purpose and security. However, for Farmers who are in Agriculture the bank is willing to approve the fund without the collateral. Government is giving loans at a very low interest rate for agriculture in comparison to a business. Apart from Government and Banks, there are other private organizations to avail funds such as, SALF etc.

Day 3 - 15th March 2025 started at 9.30 AM with the Biblical view on Agriculture and Business.

Lead by John Warton on Genesis 41 - Pharaoh's Dream. He stated that the Government has an important part in satisfying Hunger. The Government, Business and Agriculture cannot be separated hence Pastors must encourage the church to be involved in these sectors (Government, Business and Agriculture). He summed up by saying that if there are no Christians in Government, Business and Agriculture, the nation suffers.

Plenary Session V: Dayakar Rao Benhur. From 11 AM to 12.00 PM

Innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, market promotion and policy development as key drivers for creating demand for millets: A replicable model of Value Chain. He shared that Millets are from the beginning but now they are being rediscovered as superfoods. Value added millet products are of huge demand in the market than the direct produce. He spoke on the reasons why millets are not considered as easily cooked or often eaten foods. Millets do not have Gluten this became an obstacle in diversifying the products. After using a few new technologies, cookies, instant breakfast batter mixes, malt flours etc. were created using millets. For noodles, pizza Bases and other products, millets were combined with other grains for the gluten and came up as multi-grain products. He also talked about the benefits of including millets in our daily lives such as, one will never end up overeating with millets, while will also have proteins, nutrients that prevents children from malnutrition. He shared many resources that his Institution ‘Nutri Hub’ is providing the entrepreneurs in millets and has started 500 plus startups in a year span. He concluded by saying that there is a huge demand for millets in other countries apart from India, as the knowledge and awareness increases among people regarding its significance and benefits.

After the plenary session, it was acknowledgement of the organizing team for the conference. It was from 12.00 PM to 12.45 PM. After the session, there was a Lunch Break from 12.45 PM to 2.15 PM.

Short Session: There was a Discussion hosted by Jonathan Chavan and Gladstone on resources for Entrepreneurs from 2.15 PM to 2.45 PM. This discussion was very helpful to the participants. As it has enlightened the participants on Various resources, Internships, Scholarships, Training and conferences available etc.

The Breakout Workshop on Improving soil health and setting up Biochar production was taken by Ashok from 2.45 PM to 3.15 PM. He started by sharing the results of using the Biochar in Farming. Biochar is plant waste or wood waste heated to a certain level. It cannot be used directly but with cow dung and other things. It increases the porosity of the soil and helps in absorbing the water and other nutrients from plants.

Thereafter the last session of the 3-day conference started from 3.45 PM to 5.30 PM.

It was “Presentation from the Think Tank groups.”

There were 5 Think Tank groups that were created. Issac Immanuel led the whole initiative of Think Tank groups and follow up plans. Participants divided themselves based on their interest areas among the following five topics:

• Market: Access/Linkages: How to enable optimal price realisation

• Training, Education & Capacity Building: How to build skills & retain / attract talents

• Technology & Innovation: How to nurture innovation & relevant technologies

• Digitalisation of Agriculture: How to enable digital literacy

• Regenerative Agriculture: Recognising the errors / Blunders / curse of “fallen short of glory” & restoring, reviving back to the God ordained way of farming

Participants from each group shared the challenges and the possible practical solutions in each concept. They came up with new Innovative ideas to further the farming and business sectors.

From the Training Education & Capacity building group, it was stated that farmers are not aware and educated enough to make agriculture reliable and sustainable. New techniques in farming, equipment training, organic manure production, marketing skills and networking etc. will be considered in training and educating farmers.

The Regenerative Farming group shared reasons for regeneration such as, ecological imbalance due to synthetic chemicals, poor water management, low income or yield because of poor soil health etc. They also shared the plan of action which includes some major things like, data collecting, record keeping, usage of organic manures, integration of livestock, cover cropping, NRM (Natural resource management) etc.

The Presentation from Digitalization group was very brief yet effective. Their idea on digitalizing farming is very simple. Building a website or an App in collaboration with SALF and ECHO. It contains all the essentials on farming, starting from resources, advises, links for funds, fintech (Banks coming together) etc... for the farmers help so that they have one platform and clarity.

The Technology and Innovation group came up with Ideas like, urban agriculture, using social media for new techniques in farming, including disabled people for small cultivations and shops, solar integration, farmer enhancing machinery etc. They also shared a tool for farmer queries which helps farmers to understand the new methods and innovations etc. The query would be answered in 48 hrs from within the community.

Participants Feedback: After the Presentations were finished, Participants were asked to give feedback on the 3 days conference. Many participants were filled with hope and positivity toward Natural farming and Business.

Some of the other significant responses are mentioned herewith:

• They shared that they understood the strength in unity that having a good community has an influence on one’s life in a good way.

• Some said that they were able to meet new people and have new perspectives opened through this conference.

• Some didn't know where to go for information on some aspects of doing business as a Christian but now got a clarification at the end of the 3-day conference.

• One shared that it was very difficult to put Agriculture, Business and Christianity together. But now, through this conference, God helped to get the right perspective. And she summed up by saying, that when people were building the tower of babel, they were united, but they do not have God in the center of it, so they and their idea were scattered. Whereas we, as the body of Christ trying to build the Business and Agriculture of India have God in the center so we will not be shaken or scattered.

Participants went with renewed understanding about Agriculture & business, determined to involve directly or indirectly to bring wholistic transformation in the country by their involvement.

One of the important follow up steps after this conference is to strengthen the think tank groups and work on the plans emerging. As an immediate step, SALF decided to follow up with smaller network gatherings focusing on these themes and create more working partnerships to address the challenges of smallholder farmers.

ECHO will work on organizing a bigger regional conference in 2026 in one of the South Asian countries and will add momentum to what emerged from the recent Hyderabad conference.