DeFacto's AgHeal wants to turn India’s farm economy into a public health story
DeFacto India launches AgHeal to connect farmer prosperity, agriculture, nutrition and public health through a national platform.
India’s agriculture and health conversations often happen in separate rooms.
DeFacto India wants to bring them together through AgHeal, a new platform linking farmer prosperity with nutrition and public health.
The Development Chamber of Food and Agriculture Trade Association (DeFacto India) launched AgHeal on September 21 at a Founding Leadership Dialogue in New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, farmers, food businesses, startups, investors and civil society.
The initiative is built around the idea that agricultural growth and public health are closely connected through the food system. It aims to create a platform where issues around farming, food, nutrition and health can be discussed together rather than as separate priorities.
The launch was attended by Rajit Punhani, CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as Chief Guest, along with Dr Ashok Dalwai, Chairman of DeFacto India, and Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh (Retd), who joined as Special Guest.
Bringing agriculture and health together
The Founding Leadership Dialogue included farmer producer organisations, food processing companies, agricultural cooperatives, startups, venture capital firms, policymakers, academia and government institutions.
Participants also came from areas including longevity and wellness, mental health, medical technology, food technology and preventive health.
Three panel discussions focused on the Farmer Economy, Consumer Economy and Productivity Economy, alongside fireside conversations during the event.
“The prosperity of the farmer and the health of the citizen have always been, in my view, a single objective wearing two names,” said Dr Ashok Dalwai. "AgHeal is where that single objective finally gets pursued as one.”
Punhani said bringing food safety, agriculture and nutrition onto one platform addresses an important need.
A wider conversation around food and health
The initiative also brought together voices from the food, nutrition and media sectors, including Shraddha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory; Dr Sarath Gopalan, President of the Nutrition Society of India; Revant Himatsingka, founder of FoodPharmer.
AgHeal is being conceived and led by Shreyasi Agarwal, CEO of DeFacto India.
“Every stakeholder in this room represents 1.4 billion people,” Agarwal said. “We are building with them, and for the world.”
DeFacto India describes AgHeal as a national convergence platform rather than a one-off conference. Its stated focus is to connect agricultural growth with consumer health outcomes, bringing different parts of the food and health ecosystem into a common conversation.
The initiative comes under DeFacto India, a Section 8 not-for-profit chamber chaired by Dalwai and led by Agarwal. The organisation works across agriculture, nutrition and national growth, with a focus on connecting farmer prosperity with consumer health outcomes.