Give agricultural education from the primary school level- IAUA

The 9th Brain Storming session cum Vice Chancellors Conference organized by the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni concluded on Friday evening. Himachal Pradesh’s Minister for Agriculture, Tribal Development and Information Technology Dr Ram Lal Markanda chaired the plenary session of the conference.

The event was held under the aegis of the New Delhi based Indian Agricultural Universities Association (IAUA). The association has 68 state and central agricultural universities of the country as its member. Over 20 Vice-Chancellors and their representatives attended the conference.

Speaking at the event, Dr Markanda said that the state government was aiming to make the agriculture produce of the state completely organic by 2022.

“The environment and climatic zones of the Himachal was suitable for organic farming. To make the state the best in organic farming, the Zero Budget Natural farming model will be encouraged. To meet this aim, the farmers and extension works of the agriculture and animal husbandry departments will be trained in this form of agriculture and the scientific support of UHF and CSK HPKV, Palampur will be taken”, said Dr Markanda.

Dr. A.R Pathak, Vice President, IAUA shared detailed information of the association’s activities and requested the minister to set up a state-of-the-art Tissue Culture Laboratory in Himachal Pradesh. Executive Secretary of IAUA, Dr. RP Singh said that the basic information about agriculture and horticulture should be given at the primary level in the schools. He also asked for simplification of the process for certification of organic products.

While congratulating the UHF and IAUA for holding the conference in Himachal, the Agriculture Minister said that the deliberations and recommendations of the conference will be highly beneficial for the agricultural sector of the country. He urged the participating Vice-Chancellors to focus on implementing the recommendations of the conference in every village of the country.

Dr Markanda also asked the scholars to take up research on those relevant subjects, which make modern knowledge of agriculture more practical. He also sought the support of agricultural universities in encouraging the youth to take up entrepreneurship activities in agriculture and horticulture.

Earlier, Dr HC Sharma, UHF Vice Chancellor, delivered the welcome address and hoped that the recommendations of the conference would be helpful in the promotion of agricultural activities in the country and build strategies for doubling farmers' income in India.