IACC’s F&B and Agribusiness Leadership Forum

Date : 7 March 2024

Location : Chennai

The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce #AustCham India’s F&B and Agribusiness leadership forum in association with Western Sydney University (a Corporate Patron/Lifetime member) was pleased to organise a ‘Roundtable Discussion on the role of technology and innovation in Agribusiness’ on 7 March in Chennai.

We had excellent participation from industry, Government and academia. Welcome remarks were delivered by Ms. Petula Thomas, CEO, IACC and the Opening address by Mr. David Eggleston, Australian Deputy Consul General in Chennai.

This was followed by insightful remarks from Prof. Deborah Sweeney, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President, Research, Enterprise and International, Western Sydney University who spoke about the University’s capabilities as well as journey with India and new exciting initiatives/partnerships. Mr. T.R Kesavan, Co-Chair of IACC’s F&B and Agribusiness leadership forum and Group President - Corporate Relations & Alliances, TAFE - Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited and Prof. Ian Anderson, Director - Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment and Agriculture, Western Sydney University, set the scene/context and moderated the discussion. Excellent insights from Prof. Nisha Rakesh, Head - International Strategy and Partnerships (Food & Environment), Western Sydney University, Mr. Vikram Keerthi Jayakumar, Associate Vice President, Guidance Tamil Nadu, Mr. Henry Sam, Director - Trade & Investments (Education), Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Mr. Vignesh Janakiraman, Country Head – India, TIMAC AGRO India, Mr. John Njaliyan, Manager – Technical Services, Heat and Control Inc., Mr. Shankar Duraiswami, Chief Executive Officer, Gurinasu Agrotech Private Limited, Dr. M Bhaskaran, Pro Vice Chancellor, Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS), Dr. N Anbarasu PhD, Head, School of Agriculture, VISTAS, Dr. N Muraliraja, Assoc. Prof. of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Director of International Affairs, VISTAS, Mr. Parthiban N, Head of Business Development, Milky Mist Dairy and Ms. Janaki S., Policy Research Analyst, Australian Consulate-General, Chennai.