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Scaling Impact through Public-Private Synergy

Dr Gururaj Guddappa Kulkarni PhD, FESI, PGDIPR

General Manager and Head of Crop Excellence

String Bio Pvt Limited, Bangalore Karnataka India

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Introduction

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Importance of agriculture in the economy

Increasing pressures: climate change, resource constraints, market volatility

Need for collaborative approaches

PPP as a bridge between public policy & private innovation

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  • Definition: Cooperative arrangement between public and private entities for mutual benefit
  • Key elements:�
    • Shared investment
    • Shared risks & rewards
    • Joint decision-making

What is a Public–Private Partnership?

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Why PPP in Agriculture?

Public sector strengths: policy, research institutions, farmer outreach, subsidies

Private sector strengths: technology, market linkages, efficiency, investment capital

Synergy: Combining reach with innovation to solve challenges faster

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Models of PPP in Agriculture

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CONTRACT FARMING

R&D COLLABORATIONS

INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS (E.G., IRRIGATION, STORAGE)

AGRI-INPUT INNOVATIONS (SEEDS, BIO-FERTILISERS, CROP PROTECTION)

MARKET LINKAGE PLATFORMS

DIGITAL ADVISORY & PRECISION AGRICULTURE SERVICES

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Benefits of PPP

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    • Faster technology adoption by farmers
    • Reduced financial burden on public exchequer
    • Enhanced market access for farmers
    • Increased productivity & sustainability
    • Encourages inclusive growth (smallholder participation)

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    • Policy and regulatory hurdles
    • Mistrust between stakeholders
    • Unequal risk sharing
    • Market volatility affecting farmer incomes
    • Need for transparency and accountability

– Challenges & Risks

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Region

PPP Initiative

Impact Highlights

Global

AIM for Climate (U.S.–UAE)

$29B mobilized for climate-smart agriculture

Global

Corporate Regenerative Programs

Up to 120% income gains; soil and environmental benefits

Global (Urban)

AeroFarms Vertical Farming (U.S.)

70× yields, tech-driven urban agriculture

Africa

TerrAfrica Partnership

$2B investment; national SLM practices adopted

Asia (India)

Indo–Israeli Agriculture Project

Centers of Excellence, farmer capacity building

Asia (Rice)

GRiSP (CGIAR Rice Program)

900+ partners, wide R&D collaboration

Asia (Rice)

IRRC (Rice NRM)

NRM tech diffusion across 11 countries

Asia (FAO comp.)

FAO Agribusiness PPP Cases

Agricultural value chains and infrastructure in Asia

PPP Success Projects

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  • IRRI–Private Seed Companies: BIC, HRDC, DSR
  • FAO–Private Firms: Post-harvest loss reduction programs
  • e-Choupal (ITC): Digital market linkage
  • Amul Cooperative Model: Dairy PPP impact
  • COVID Vaccine/s

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Global & Indian Success Stories

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APAARI’s Code of Practice for PPP

Guiding principles: fairness, transparency, sustainability

Role of stakeholders in governance

Examples from APAARI’s work in Asia-Pacific

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CG Centers and their Assets

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BIC invite public and private institutes to use IRRI’s research facilities and expertise to fast-track their research and deliver products.

Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

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Offers a membership-based program that allows partners to leverage IRRI’s research infrastructure, expertise and other resources for the development of their innovative products or research solutions

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  • Plug and Play from day one to members
  • No initial R&D capital investments
  • Working with International scientists
  • Mentoring and coaching opportunities
  • Fast track the research priorities
  • Global market opportunities

SIGNIFICANCE

Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

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BIC Launch: Bio-Seed Project Updates

Project MOU signed and launched.

Project activities delayed due to COVID situation.

Material exchange activities initiated, while waiting for the internal approvals.

Constant touch with Bio-Seed on the COVID development at Philippines.

Working with IRRI internal teams to prepare to support charge back and necessary support.

Once the COVID restrictions are eased then plan to start the activities with two staff from Bio-Seed based at Los Baños.

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Broader MOU with UASB for Research Partnership

University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore (UASB) and IRRI HQ Philippines agreed to have a research partnership to work on Rice research areas jointly to mitigate the challenges of the Rice sector. The research areas identified after the brainstorming session with ZARS on Rice, Mandya. To take this research partnership forward, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between two institutes.

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MOU signed on 8 July 2021 for next 5 years of Research Partnership

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Potential Partnerships: Exploratory Visits/Meetings

Raichur Agricultural University Visit (24 June 2022)

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Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

Shell and IRRI partner to work on Climate Resilient Rice and reduce emissions

MOU signed on 9 Sept 2022 at IRRI Global HQ Philippines

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Bioseed Research Philippines Partnership

  • Addendum to MOU for Bioseed research partnership was done in 2024 and extended for 5 years

- MOU signed on 21 May 2024

- New office created

- New screen house (BG15 & 16) repairs

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Meeting with public and private sector

for possible partnership

NRRI Cuttack Visit : 2022

ML Farms founder visit: Dec 2023

IRRI Gene bank : 2024

Speed Breeding Facility : 2024

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Key support to training and project

Supported the Assam Project Support (India)

Cambodia Agril Minister visit to SHU and PGF research facility at HQ

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Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

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Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

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Dr Gururaj Kulkarni, IRRI, Philippines

Research paper presented in global conference of CG-GHU@ 2019 Rabat, Morocco

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Recertification for ETS in 2023: Ensuring Continued Excellence

The success of the ETS audit recertification can be ascribed to the collaborative endeavors of the auditees from the Genetic Transformation Laboratory, the Golden Rice Group, and the Stewardship Implementation Team.

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Stewardship Manual (2025)

Key points

  • New Policy in 2016 on Transgenic Stewardship
  • New Updated Policy in 2021 (cover transgenic, Gene-edited and Wild)
  • SOPs and WI developed to support
  • ETS membership in 2016
  • External audit passed in 2019 and 2022
  • Internal audit conducted before the external audit
  • Stewardship Implementation Team (SIT) to monitor the implementation
  • Trainings are conducted regularly
  • Update the management and ETS office at Washington DC on the progress

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ISRAC center establishment @Varanasi India

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ISARC Varanasi project completed in record time with better quality standards

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Trainings and Research center visit

Training to the Cambodian Seed Staff in collaboration with IE

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Visited CSIRO and AgriBio Research center, Melbourne

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Agriculture Contribution to Global Economy

Role

Impact

Role

Impact

GDP Contribution

4% globally, up to 30% in developing nations

Employment

1 in 4 people globally

Food Security

Backbone of global nutrition systems

Trade

10% of global merchandise trade

Climate Impact

24% of GHG emissions, but huge mitigation potential

Innovation Driver

Agri-tech, digital, and green transitions

Social Impact

Rural livelihoods, women’s employment

Increased yields with sustainable agriculture approaches with reduced climate impact – are Key for path forward

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String Bio - Advanced Biomanufacturing

Gas fermentation platform to convert the carbon contained in greenhouse gases into low carbon ingredients.

SDG’s Impacted

Agriculture

Biological Crop Inputs for Climate Resilient Yields

Food & Nutrition

Alternative Proteins for Human Nutrition

Animal Nutrition

Sustainable Protein for Feed Value Chains

Carbon

Carbon Credits/Scope 3 benefits enabled from GHG reduction in manufacturing & on field use.

Differentiated Technology Platform

Diverse Products

Demonstrated Scalability

Proprietary Technology

End to End Manufacturing

CH4 & CO2

Methane to Products

Key Markets

Process & Technology validated through a multi-purpose plant in India operational for last 5 years.

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String Bio has developed crop-specific solutions tailored for farmer’s unique challenges.

BIOFERTILIZERS

MICRONUTRIENTS

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String Bio’s commercial products are positioned for 11 key crops

* Most products are ECOCERT certified organic products

Biofertilizer

Micronutrients

Peptide Bio-stimulants

Microbial Stimulants

Zinc

�Calcium

�Boron

+

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Our Agri Products are validated through numerous large acre and multi-location trials done by national and international Agri nodal agencies.

Products validated independently by Agricultural Institutes and Farmers

Fig 1. Green circle indicates validation completed and orange circle indicates trials in progress

Fig 2. Values in circle indicate number of crops tested in each location

© 2025 String Bio. All rights reserved

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Pilot Operations validated for last 5 years in Bengaluru, Karnataka

Production from both biogas and natural gas – enables circularity; Only company globally with validated process for biogas

Full Scale Commercial Facility in Tumkur, Karnataka capable of addressing 10+ Million acres

Solar powered and designed for ZLD & Net Zero

All produced in India’s First Gas Fermentation Facility

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First of its kind, patented foliar microbial stimulant that enables low carbon, with high yield in Rice

Application Type

Seedling Dip/Soil Spray + Foliar spray

Up to 50% reduction in methane and nitrous oxide emissions

Greater yield of grains: More productive tillers & reduced chaffy grains

Better quality of grains: with higher Zn, Fe and lower brokens

Ability to reduce synthetic N fertilizer use by up to 25%

Commercially sold in India; In Pipeline for US, SE Asia, South America.

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Positive Momentum in the Rice Ecosystem with CleanRise

CleanRise is part of global SRP (Sustainable Rice Platform) Standard

International Rice Research Institute is validating CleanRise under Direct Seeded Rice Consortia Project

CleanRise is being validated under All India Coordinated Research Program in Rice by 17 academic partners in Kharif 2025

CleanRise is Introduced in Grow Indigo’s Carbon Project

◀ Go to Executive Summary

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IIRR and String jointly hosted Seed industry meeting on Sustainability: 22 July 2025

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Project Samruddhi launched with Rice farmers in South India

  1. Deployed across major rice river belts: Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Krishna, and Godavari
  2. Onboarding 2000+ Farmers in Season 1
  3. Combines CleanRise® with responsible water management

Potential to generate 1-2 tonnes CO₂e offsets per acre across South India

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Significant productivity gains (15–39%) and income boost

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Better head rice %, reduced brokens, and nutritional value

  • Latest Rice Methodology (2025) in Verra (Scientifically Robust)
  • ICVCM Approved Registry
  • Aligned with Core Carbon Principles (high integrity)

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Impact & Outcomes

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String Bio is driving global conversations on Sustainable Rice

Driving ecosystem-wide action on carbon reduction while promoting String’s CleanRise solution for sustainable and decarbonized rice cultivation

Responsible Rice – White Paper and Webinar

Member: Sustainable Rice Platform

CleanRise is a part of latest SRP Global Standard

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Conclusion

  • Shared Vision: Aligning goals of public institutions and private enterprises

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  • Collaborative Strengths: Leveraging innovation, policy, and market reach together

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  • Sustainable Growth: Creating long-term value for farmers, industry and society

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  • Inclusive Impact: Ensuring benefits reach communities at scale

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  • Way forward: Deepen partnerships for resilience, innovation and global competitiveness

Synergy is not just about working together, it’s about achieving together

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Thank you