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
00:00that happens quite a lot here and also I think work stress is
00:04that is another problem okay yeah it creates everything
00:08yeah all kind of structures collapsed even if you eat most expensive water
00:15drink most expensive water most expensive food if you're stressed nothing is you
00:21useful yes exactly so I think with stress digestion is the first one that
00:29you can see how about isabgul I don't know what is the English name of isabgul
00:34do you know isabgul yes I know I heard that that is also getting marketed by a
00:43lot of people they try to sell isabgul in western world natural it's true I have
00:51seen some products here as well in premium shops and it just makes me laugh
00:58right in Australia it is a premium product do they grow or they don't
01:05grow it I don't think they grow it it was just a product in a grocery store which
01:13has like products from all across the world so they have started selling it
01:18but a lot of people who have been who have been to India who are experienced or
01:24exposed to yoga and stuff like that they would hear it from their Indian
01:28friends or the teacher would talk about it and then they would start doing such
01:32kind of things there was this one particular thing I don't know if you
01:36have heard of it but in yoga there is something called nasal cleaning with
01:42water that has picked up in Australia I was so shocked looking at it that some
01:51people had it and I was just asking this woman where did you buy this mug from and
01:58she's like oh you find it in the so-and-so store so I was quite amazed I
02:04thought it was very like an Indian thing and like people who even do yoga in India
02:09don't know about it but she was doing it she said it helped her with her
02:14sinuses so there you go actually I visited himachal so I talk with Australian
02:23people who come for certification they can practice yeah professionally they do it in
02:29Australia I guess it is a basic thing miss they teach in yoga yeah like
02:39initially I would see that in maybe 80s in India in our schools we just read it
02:48in books but we never do it practically yeah I think that has been the issue with
02:56India for very long time like you would have known that when turmeric was
03:02being sold as capsules by US and they got a patent on it anti-inflammatory it was
03:09such a big deal like maybe they will have a patent in Isabgul in future I feel
03:15Twifla is Isabgul everything will be patent in future Twifla is also very
03:20useful for diet in digestion you know in digestion yes they also sell it
03:25interesting Australia very different culture but yeah it's a multicultural
03:35country I guess everybody have in so actually Chinese people also have this
03:41kind of medicine but yeah yeah I think a lot of people who are becoming
03:52aware Western people who are becoming aware about natural medicine and stuff
03:56like that they are either going to Chinese medicine or Ayurveda so like I was
04:02saying Ashwagandha and stuff like that people have started taking so it just
04:05depends like who they are interacting with who's telling them what to use and they
04:10see oh my friend did this and it worked out for them and then there is a
04:13growing market or also there is a marketing campaigns from bigger
04:17companies who would tell you that this is going to help you and some people are
04:21quite innovative and they're happy to try so if it works for them it works for
04:28them you don't really have to hard sell them they are already willing to try it so
04:33you know there is one because there is a lot of sleep related medicines and
04:40supplements available so I guess maybe after some time you will see poppy seeds you
04:47know poppy seeds huskhus I don't know how do you call it in Hindi but it will be also
04:55going to be sold you know it gives a very good sleep yeah I'm not sure if I've
05:02seen it already like people start using Ashwagandha but this thing is a more
05:10powerful than Ashwagandha for better sleep it's a kind of alcoholic thing you
05:15know it create effects like that that's why you will get a very deep sleep that's
05:20why a lot of Mithai they use poppy seeds so when you eat you go sleep okay I
05:29didn't know about the Mithai I guess after talking with you this thing come in
05:35mind my mind that in future people should start selling poppy seed as a sleep
05:42sleep supplement you know kind of thing now that you say that it just came to my
05:47mind have you seen how Makana is exploding in Western market Makana is also getting
05:52popular yeah in India even I also started in Makana it's becoming really popular there
05:58are so many startups here who are working in Fox yes it is also getting popular yeah I
06:11think we just missed the order yes we kept moving towards like Pepsi Co's
06:18products like yeah we are we are shifting towards McDonald's they are shifting
06:23towards Makana something like this yes that's exactly what has happened but I
06:29think it just takes time and it's only human nature to like go back to nature
06:38something like that people start moving towards rural life because now
06:44they realize the city life is not good for there they disturb all your cycle you
06:51know yes yes I have seen a lot of couples moving back people who had like jobs in
06:58Singapore USA going back to their hometowns in Uttarakhand and living like a
07:03very basic life in Himachal Pradesh started growing their own food so it's
07:09quite nice to see but you need to have a lot of backing to be able to do that not
07:14everybody can do it yeah yes everybody can do but you need to stop watching
07:20Instagram so you can do it otherwise you will never do it because Instagram make you
07:26so you know capitalistic on more money travel on more money travel they can't
07:33settle you down
07:34mm-hmm like that I guess there are a lot yeah yeah I was just saying there are a lot
07:43of like Australian people that have seen in YouTube videos also who have started
07:48living in what's that ashram in South India yeah I think it's one yes Tamil
07:59ladu the city which is in itself there so they go there and live there they love it
08:05there so yeah so basically Indian want to go to Western world and Western world go to
08:12and they enjoy Western life so they want to live a real life something like
08:19that I wouldn't say all of them no I wouldn't say it's all of them like some
08:25Australians love living here they do not have any desire to go to any Asian
08:32country for that matter but some people are and you know it recently one
08:40Australian Australian man is getting popular by talking Hindi maybe you have
08:46seen the real there are heaps of them there are heaps of them and most of the
08:50it's not even only Australian I think there are people from across the world who are
08:54trying to speak either in Chinese or Hindi because there is maximum population
08:59there so they can get a lot of likes so I've seen both these languages being
09:04spoken by people in Russia people in Ghana people in any other country they
09:11would do it and the right to my dialogues here only would I love your songs so a few
09:18things come in my mind so basically how do you see research work carrier you know is
09:26is it good or it's better to work in professional field or and how do you see
09:33yourself after maybe few years like you want to become a kind of CEO or CFO or
09:41CFO but this kind of carrier path or a Dean of a university or how do you see
09:49yourself like as an example in India if you do research work there is no means people
09:55do it for just job so is it similar thing over there or there as you
10:01already said whatever you do research is not implemented in practical world but
10:05still there is a some worth yeah um so I think in Australia you can have both
10:17kinds of profession in the sense after PhD you can be a professional in a industry you can be you
10:27can study on business you can be researcher you can be a lecturer and take the academic
10:32route I'm not sure how it compares with India but as far as I know generally in India it's not
10:42very
10:43easy to change your professions and merge into other things take into new stuff once you have a
10:49label you have a label and most of the time you have to stick with it until and unless you
10:53take
10:54other credentials formal qualifications you cannot move but in Australia it's quite easy and it's quite
11:03usual a lot of people do that and they do it quite often you would see people coming from random
11:10sectors
11:11they want to do agriculture now and it is okay you can start your career again as far as for
11:20me I
11:20think I see myself more working towards maybe industry organizations or those kind of places like
11:30industry peak bodies where I can of course work with research I like it and then but I can also
11:38have
11:39some real world impact so I do not see myself as someone who is just sitting in a lab trying
11:46to
11:46find a very fundamental biology question that's not for me some people like finding that but I think
11:54my focus was more to create some change with the research for me that's not a pathway so I don't
12:01see
12:01myself as a professor or a dean of a school but probably CEO yes sure why not
12:09or maybe buy some land and start farming or build a kind of you know your own laboratory and do
12:21research work to
12:23to make a patented seeds you know something like that means have you thought or it's very expensive path
12:31I have thought of it
12:35that I want to do it
12:36it can be just my mental block that I think I need more experience
12:40as you said you can start anytime
12:42so maybe it's just a mental block that I wouldn't be able to do it but I have thought about
12:47that also
12:47but it wouldn't be I don't think so it's going to be lab based it's going to be organic farming
12:53if
12:53it if it ever comes to fruition
12:58and how is your experience or how
13:04Western people or miss the people who live in Australia they think about China means China is
13:10growing very fast I guess maybe compared to USA as well right how do they see China
13:17India is if ever you have seen any kind of discussion saying what respect like in the
13:28technology field or in agriculture field as well because I feel that in India because I am from
13:34agriculture background so people people's lands are getting shrinking you know because after
13:42independence some families get 100 vega so they divided into five they divided into five and now people have
13:51five vega two vega so basically a lot of people say that in future like reliance and this kind of
13:59company
14:00will have a land they industrialize it so as we go in factories and produce that thing happen and
14:08this thing is also started happening in China so they have a private companies who do farming in
14:17vertical farming and things like that so yeah but I guess in Australia right now in the individual farmers have
14:29a lot of land and they do a farming right now but maybe in future they will also go in
14:35this path I don't know
14:38how is your experience industrialization of agriculture or something like that
14:47um so there are two things one is that the farmers in Australia
14:54have quite massive amount of lands which land is not an issue land is not an issue people have
15:04I don't know I don't know yeah like even even
15:12my colleagues can be saying oh we have a 15 acre property and they would still not count it as
15:17something for farming so it's very natural to people for people to have 15 20 acres of land they grow
15:25up in
15:26there but they still don't call themselves farmers so one is that that they have a lot of
15:33power the farmers they have a lot of power they're very financially secure I wouldn't let's
15:40not say very because a lot of farmers are also struggling here because of climate change and stuff
15:44but as compared to India whatever I'm saying is in comparison to India if you look at
15:50if you think about Indian farmer you would have an image but if you think about Australian farmer it's
15:56going to be absolutely different he might have like a big house he might also have multiple cars
16:01and those kind of things so financially they are quite different so one thing is that the second thing
16:08is that um because Australia is so big the manufacturing sector in Australia is quite poor
16:17there
16:17I
16:17see
16:18there
16:18झाल झाल