In this episode of the Discover India 101 Podcast, I speak with **Dr. Rimjhim Agarwal** about the fascinating intersection of **agriculture, food, research, innovation, technology and market intelligence**.
We explore how scientific research can move beyond laboratories and create real-world impact through **research translation, innovation and entrepreneurship**.
In this conversation, we discuss:
• Agri-food innovation and the future of agriculture
• How research can be translated into practical solutions
• Market intelligence and understanding emerging opportunities
• Agriculture, food systems and technology
• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Organic farming, seeds and agricultural research
• Technology and AI in agriculture
• Education, careers and opportunities in research
• Life and work in Australia
• Farming and agriculture in Australia
• Differences between agriculture and food systems in India and Australia
• The journey from education and research to real-world impact
• Opportunities for young people interested in agriculture, science and innovation
Dr. Rimjhim Agarwal was also a **7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Semi-Finalist in 2026**.
This conversation is particularly relevant for students, researchers, entrepreneurs, agriculture professionals and anyone interested in the future of food, farming, technology and innovation.
🎙️ **Guest:** Dr. Rimjhim Agarwal
🌱 **Topics:** Agri-Food | Agriculture | Food Systems | Innovation | Research | Research Translation | Market Intelligence | AI | Technology | Australia | Farming
If you found this conversation interesting, consider **liking, sharing and subscribing** to Discover India 101 for more conversations about education, careers, technology, society, entrepreneurship and life around the world.
#DrRimjhimAgarwal #AgriFood #AgriFoodInnovation #Agriculture #Research #Innovation #ResearchTranslation #MarketIntelligence #FoodInnovation #AgriculturalResearch #Australia #AI #Technology #Podcast #DiscoverIndia101
**Disclaimer:**
This podcast is intended for educational, informational and conversational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the guest are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Discover India 101 or its host. Information discussed during the conversation should not be considered professional, scientific, agricultural, financial, legal or medical advice. Viewers should independently verify information and consult qualified professionals where appropriate.
Some statements may reflect personal experiences, interpretations or opinions and should not be treated as universally applicable facts.
We explore how scientific research can move beyond laboratories and create real-world impact through **research translation, innovation and entrepreneurship**.
In this conversation, we discuss:
• Agri-food innovation and the future of agriculture
• How research can be translated into practical solutions
• Market intelligence and understanding emerging opportunities
• Agriculture, food systems and technology
• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Organic farming, seeds and agricultural research
• Technology and AI in agriculture
• Education, careers and opportunities in research
• Life and work in Australia
• Farming and agriculture in Australia
• Differences between agriculture and food systems in India and Australia
• The journey from education and research to real-world impact
• Opportunities for young people interested in agriculture, science and innovation
Dr. Rimjhim Agarwal was also a **7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Semi-Finalist in 2026**.
This conversation is particularly relevant for students, researchers, entrepreneurs, agriculture professionals and anyone interested in the future of food, farming, technology and innovation.
🎙️ **Guest:** Dr. Rimjhim Agarwal
🌱 **Topics:** Agri-Food | Agriculture | Food Systems | Innovation | Research | Research Translation | Market Intelligence | AI | Technology | Australia | Farming
If you found this conversation interesting, consider **liking, sharing and subscribing** to Discover India 101 for more conversations about education, careers, technology, society, entrepreneurship and life around the world.
#DrRimjhimAgarwal #AgriFood #AgriFoodInnovation #Agriculture #Research #Innovation #ResearchTranslation #MarketIntelligence #FoodInnovation #AgriculturalResearch #Australia #AI #Technology #Podcast #DiscoverIndia101
**Disclaimer:**
This podcast is intended for educational, informational and conversational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the guest are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Discover India 101 or its host. Information discussed during the conversation should not be considered professional, scientific, agricultural, financial, legal or medical advice. Viewers should independently verify information and consult qualified professionals where appropriate.
Some statements may reflect personal experiences, interpretations or opinions and should not be treated as universally applicable facts.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Sh Victor is the use less food in
00:03vegetables or fruits or and what is the best food you know like
00:09recently I watch one reel that they say there
00:15as we used to
00:17say one thing that
00:18to eat apple a day keep Dr. sorry you know something like that so
00:23this trend do they implement to sell more apples
00:25लिए पोपर्या लिए दे ंंस दोपरियर व्यायी को जो से अजसन आड़ कि अग्सक्ड शिचे माझाप्त कर लिए फिए फिर
00:36विए खिर दूसे हो विए आड this is the best or which is the worst food or useless food
00:55और और वीट एक नावसल्स तूम्टी युतिक्टन शजस्यूंट और गजिए शवेश नहीं है
01:10is bad per se, they have their different properties and most of the time this might sound very
01:16contradictory. Do you eat rice and wheat or you don't eat? I do, I do, I do eat. So I
01:25think the
01:26main message that I wanted the people to get is that all fruits, vegetables and the grains you
01:35have been eating are fine. It just has to be diversified. The problem that we have had with
01:41wheat and rice is that we have used wheat and rice for everything but if you look traditionally we
01:49would have a lot of other things like millets would be there, ragi would be there, corn flour
01:54would be there. There were so many others other types of grains and same with lentils also it has
02:00become very narrow. Like if you look at how people are eating avocados in India it's really
02:07shocking. I'm like you guys have the best fruits in the world why do you want to eat something which
02:12doesn't taste like anything and you're ready to pay a premium for it just because western people eat it.
02:18So my whole concept is to like eat local stuff but nobody would do that. Everybody wants to follow
02:26your channel. As you say avocado there is one another level that people also eat dragon fruit
02:31like avocado. Yes both of them both of the both of the fruits grow here so I understand people eating
02:39them because people here do not have chiku they do not have guava there are no good mangoes there are
02:46so
02:46many other fruits that we don't have here so we have limited fruits and we eat them similarly with
02:52the US also so a lot of I think most of the things that happen with food is marketing like
02:59you said
02:59about the apple it is pretty similar with other things also that you would hear for example kiwi it
03:06has been said to be very rich in vitamin c that's fine but guava is the richest source and Indians
03:12have it
03:13but because there is no need of yeah okay that I don't know even I also don't know
03:23yeah guava is the richest it's just that in India I think we don't do a lot of nutritional research
03:28for our own fruits and vegetables and grains so what happens is people from abroad come and take such
03:38kind of fruits they're interested in it they find it interesting and they're like oh my god super
03:42food that is what has happened with most of our fruits it happened with I've recently seen with
03:48guava there are some people studying guava here and they're like vitamin c it's so good in vitamin c
03:54but guava doesn't grow here so what's the point but they will sell it back to the people be it
04:01India be it
04:02Africa be it other culturally rich country they will sell it back to you with a premium price because
04:07then you will be buying seeds from those companies who have done this research and you lose the authority
04:13of growing your own food so that's the other perspective that I have means uh Australia also grow
04:22millets because I heard they have started they grow pulses because uh when I talk with uh this
04:31spend Australia uh he said that uh actually they don't want too much diversity means they don't want to
04:40import seeds because it it also carries some disease you know like a rubber plant so I uh I don't
04:48know if
04:48this is true or not uh actually rubber plant was native in brazil or somewhere around it but because
04:54there is a very big uh fungal disease or something like that uh Britishers shifted all rubber plants
05:02because uh those time is uh industrial revolution so they need a lot of rubbers to make attires so they
05:10shift in uh Asian countries like Thailand or uh Malaysia or Kerala or in India yes so uh Australia even
05:19in Australia you can't bring food uh food sorry fruit or food from one state to another state right
05:27they have fines there are strict biosecurity rules here you can't bring any food inside the country
05:33some states are also very strict like South Australia quite strict they check every bus that's
05:40crossing the border um northern territory western Australia all of them very sick because uh strict
05:46because all of them have very they're trying to protect their native crop and a lot of times when
05:52we are bringing in another plant so what is native what is native fruits if you know because I have
05:59seen
05:59you know I feel jealous when I have seen anjeer uh I don't know how to call it in English
06:05pig so
06:07uh a lot of parrots are enjoying lots of anjeer and uh it's a it's like a normal plant you
06:16know
06:16everywhere and they are also growing khajoor right they also grow khajoor they are in this premium quality of
06:25uh khajoor in uh desert part I guess they are also growing lots of policies as well
06:34India started importing quite popular chickpea is quite popular here that has taken up the pace
06:40but just to answer your question so for Australian native plants there are a lot of uh seeds which
06:47indigenous people of Australia used to use so for example there was there is something called lemon
06:53muttl plant which is an equivalent of lemon but its look and feel is different and it's quite
07:00sour also similarly there are some seeds like water seeds so they have like a very nutty flavor so for
07:08example you can compare it with smaller seeds in India and I cannot recollect the name of some seeds
07:15which are native to India but they will do the jobs so you don't really need to have almonds per
07:21se
07:21you can have water seeds here so indigenous people used to eat those kind of things there is
07:27another one which is like uh it's called millipilli so um there is strawberry gum so strawberry gum has
07:37very similar taste to strawberry that's why they named it strawberry gum its indigenous name is something
07:42else but all these plants are already here which people used to eat the other things he is also
07:49so native or fig is not native of australia fig is not native the plants that are native to
07:56australia are very different and you might not have heard them ever what kind of uh things they eat
08:04like in indigenous time indigenous people used to eat rice or wheat or they don't they just eat meat and
08:13things like that the meat was the popular one they would do hunting it it depends like how far
08:19we go if we go into into 1800s that's before britishers yes so that's when britishers came here in 1800s
08:28so
08:28they brought all the stuff that they brought to the rest of the world i guess coffee is also brought
08:34right
08:34coffee planting is also coffee is not native right no it's not um so yeah before that lot of
08:46different kinds of meat they would eat and a lot of people were tribal so they will keep on moving
08:52there's something called bunyanuts which is quite popular um it's similar to cashew or something it has
09:00that kind of rich flavor people used to eat that um heaps of banya trees here and then macadamia nuts
09:08is another one i don't know if you have heard of it maybe the marketing would make it very popular
09:15somehow but yeah i have seen only hybrid hybrid food in australia means i visited australia i always see
09:23hybrid food means big big things lemon is also very big and everything is big in size yep i guess
09:31australian people means white people they eat a lot of food compared to indian their beer is very big
09:38and everything is big the size is also big size is big that's true but that comes back to the
09:46fact that
09:47a lot of people who came here to australia were convicts of britishers so they chose people who were
09:53tall and they could do road building and mining and stuff like that uh pretty similar to what
10:02britishers did with people from africa they took all the strongest or strong to us to do the similar
10:08kind of work so yes they're quite big but coming to the portion size i'm not really sure what the
10:15exact
10:16reason is for them to be making everything huge like imians are this big watermelon is this big you
10:23cannot really eat it but for me i feel like it's more to optimize the agricultural process
10:31so that you can maximize the productivity rather than focusing on the taste many times there things
10:39can be very good looking there is this one mango here calip so when you have time have a look
10:45at it
10:45it looks beautiful it has a pink blush and you would think um that it's going to be very sweet
10:52and tasty it's not like that it's flat yes it looks good yes it has a pulp basically they grow
10:59for pulp maybe
11:02yeah yeah interesting so actually brisbane is a kind of heaven for agriculture for farmers you know for
11:15indian farmers like uh i guess uh lots of people uh have a kind of uh desire to go to
11:22israel to learn
11:22farming it was farming i guess i indian should also consider brisbane
11:30i guess they have a lot of things uh they do a lot of farming and process of process and
11:39things like
11:40that primary production yes a lot the reproduction is also very big so miss how is the uh protein
11:48marketing going over there they the people start eating protein powders or it has been going
11:56on for a while in australia and i think so means white people eat protein because they don't need
12:03right or they also need protein yeah so so everybody i think in the world is eating protein at the
12:10market
12:10regardless of what they eat so as you said aussie people have like already a lot of meat red meat
12:16is a
12:17source of protein and they primarily eat red meat so they also have eggs and milk and cheese they
12:25also eat a lot of cheese here but they still do have protein powders and it's not you know as
12:32an example
12:33it's like uh you know if you get a clean water how can we sell a water purifier you know
12:40something like
12:42that honestly if i tell you i think it's more to do with the marketing and the second thing is
12:48people do not have that much time to think about it so they're just like or someone said it let's
12:53just
12:53do it rather than actually going into it because everybody doesn't have expertise for example if you
12:59ask me if someone is telling me okay have this software in your computer it's going to help you
13:04maybe i will take it i don't know if it's going to be worth it or not it's pretty similar
13:09with food also
13:10people have lost touch with their food they don't know what they're eating so as i said you
13:17might be already eating protein but because you don't know where it is coming from what it has you're
13:23ready to buy the product so with protein market it has been so saturated in australia that it's not
13:32not only protein powders it's protein snack bars protein yogurt protein x protein y anything you can
13:42sell in this country by saying protein in it there's also something like protein lassi kind of thing
13:51so like a milk product but you're just selling it protein is also a milk product in india so maybe
13:57they try to do it in australia indian people try yes so not lassi but like it was a milk
14:03beverage
14:04and it had like 30 grams protein but a lot a lot of people don't understand that when you have
14:10that much protein your kidneys can also suffer yeah and so a lot of people are like hospitalized with
14:18kidney stones and stuff like that so i think it's just marketing gimmick and you know as an
14:26example in western countries like miss cold countries where they have a less sun exposure so they
14:34eat extra supplements like vitamin d so i guess in australia they don't need it right because
14:42they don't need they don't need it they need sunscreen to protect from sun rather than
14:50yes you know something like that yeah but i i think people still do take vitamin d supplements here
14:56again it's just a mass concept that everybody taking vitamin d so i also need to take vitamin i guess
15:02uh
15:02yeah multi-vitamin is uh popular everybody think in that way that uh if you take multivitamines uh it
15:12will balance all vitamins i guess recently i get um uh sleeping uh gummies are also getting popular you
15:24know you get melanin yeah melanin right yeah melanin is used for sleep right yes yes that's right so that
15:32is
15:32also improper this kind of marketing is also starting in australia or it's not like you will
15:39get a better sleep yes yes we have all of that and like this is not like a recent trend
15:46that has come
15:47up here it has been there for a while nowadays there has been like magnesium take magnesium for better
15:53better sleep then i have also seen products which are having ashwagandha at the moment and they're
16:00selling ashwagandha for similar kind of results so you can sell whatever you want you just have to
16:09do good marketing for a mass number of people better sleep is there better hair is there you might have
16:15heard of collagen which has been going on for years and years and people are just taking collagen
16:20supplements even with collagen i have seen collagen supplemented water people are also ready to take
16:27collagen in their water which makes no sense to me but yeah if you have a pain point like for
16:35example in today's world sleep is important and many people suffer from it they're selling it for sleep
16:44um there is recent trend which is coming up i don't know if you have heard of it it's not
16:48even recent i
16:49i think it has already been trending it's called fiber maxing so they have people have started
16:57focusing on their fiber intake now so protein is like a long-gone trend protein is a old trend fiber
17:06maxing is
17:06the new one and people are taking like heaps and heaps of fiber so if you look so do they
17:12have a
17:13digestion problem because uh i used to hear that indians eat a lot of uh masala so they have a
17:20acidity and uh this kind of uh problem but uh western people don't eat but i guess they eat meat
17:28so
17:28i guess it creates undigestion right yes so fruit and vegetable intake in australia is quite low based on
17:37the facts uh based on the statistics that i have seen they eat really less number of fruit and
17:42vegetables they would eat meat that is fine but as all i would say countries that become
17:52rich then move into a lot of packaged foods which kind of removes a lot of fiber from things most
18:00of
18:00the things so if you look into like having protein through dal in that case it would also have some
18:08amounts of other vitamins and minerals which is going to help it to be absorbed but if you just
18:14take protein powder a lot of protein powder actually just goes through your digestive system without
18:19getting absorbed because it has been separated from its original state so