Empowering Punjab’s Youth through Agribusiness--PAU scholars, experts and Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle engage youth on new opportunities in farming

Ludhiana, September 14, 2026: The Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle organized a seminar on “Empowering Youth through Agribusiness” under the aegis of its Guru Ramdas Centre for Economic Growth, focusing on transforming agriculture into a modern, technology-driven and commercially viable enterprise for Punjab’s youth. The programme opened with the recitation of the Gurbani verse, highlighting the dignity of farming and productive labour.
Dr S.S. Johl, former Chancellor, Central University of Punjab, Chief Guest, stressed that agricultural policy should be aligned with public welfare and rural employment generation. Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, former Vice-Chancellor, PAU, said Punjab’s agricultural future depends on modern technology, scientific knowledge, value addition and entrepreneurial thinking. He called for a statewide movement to encourage young farmers to enter agribusiness and urged successful overseas Punjabi agricultural entrepreneurs to contribute expertise, investment and market linkages.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Ramandeep Singh Jassal, Director, School of Business Studies and Principal Investigator, NIDHI-TBI, PAU, said agriculture had evolved beyond cultivation into a multi-billion-dollar global business opportunity covering processing, technology, logistics, marketing and innovation. Underlining his philosophy of “Farm to Business,” he urged youth to become job creators rather than merely job seekers.S. Khushwinder Bir Singh, Director, Guru Ramdas Centre for Economic Growth, emphasised conservation of Punjab’s fertile agricultural land as essential for sustainable prosperity. S. Partap Singh, Director, Dr Inderjit Singh Agriculture and Rural Development Centre, advocated shared use of costly farm machinery, low-cost technologies and efficient resource utilisation to reduce cultivation costs.Dr Jaspal Singh Hundal, Director, Students’ Welfare, GADVASU, highlighted dairy farming as an avenue for generating regular income and said the university was providing training in modern dairy-production technologies. Sardar Jaspal Singh, General Secretary, Guru Ramdas Centre, stressed the need for processing, branding, packaging and marketing of agricultural produce to create greater value and access domestic and international markets, citing the Netherlands as an example of an export-oriented agricultural economy. S. Tejwinder Singh, President, Guru Ramdas Centre and Head of Big Ben Industrial Group, said his group was exploring agribusiness opportunities after studying agricultural and food markets in the USA and other countries.
Eminent economist Dr Balwinder Pal Singh advocated rural tourism as an additional source of employment and income. Brij Bhushan Goyal, former banker, suggested that the PAU Innovation Centre and the State Government should work with Verka and MARKFED outlets to help Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) market their products through proper branding and organised retail channels. 
Dr Nirmal Singh Jaura, former Director, Students’ Welfare, PAU, attended as Guest of Honour, while Dr Kamaljit Singh Suri, Director, Students’ Welfare, PAU, and other scholars, agricultural scientists and academics participated in the seminar. The deliberations underlined the need for a paradigm shift from farming as a traditional livelihood to agriculture as an integrated economic enterprise, powered by technology, entrepreneurship, value addition, market access, rural employment and sustainable management of Punjab’s natural resources.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by S. Gurmeet Singh, Director, Overseas, Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle.