Take new techniques and govt schemes to farmers

Nauni (Himachal Pradesh), August 28, 2021: A five-day training programme on 'Enhancing productivity of Fruit Crops' was organized by the Directorate of Extension Education, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni for Horticulture Development Officers(HDO) of the state.
 
Twenty-four HDOs from different parts of the state attended the training which was sponsored by the Department of Horticulture. The trainees were educated about canopy development, orchard management, soil and plant nutrition, water harvesting structures, along disease and pest management in crops. The trainees also visited KVK Solan to learn about the latest techniques being used in high-density apple plantations.
 
Speaking during the valedictory function, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Parvinder Kaushal urged the participants to become proactive and ensure that the benefits of novel technologies and research being conducted at universities along with the latest government schemes reach the farmers. He said it was heartening to see the progress being done in the field by the young grassroot professionals of the line department, but the challenges in promoting new technologies, variety selection, management techniques needed to be dealt with properly so that the twin goals of increasing farmers’ income and improving the overall economy is realized.
 
Dr. Kaushal said that some prestigious agri-horti projects were being implemented in the state which has not only benefited the farmers, but has also resulted in infrastructure development. He advised the officers to ensure that the farmers move away from monoculture and look towards diversification of crops especially with longer shelf life. Informing that the university had achieved over 42 MT of productivity in four-year high-density apple plantations at Nauni, Dr. Kaushal said that it was time that the same success was replicated in the farmers' field. He urged the participants to keep in touch with the university and the latest know-how of the field.
 
He laid special emphasis on motivating rural youths to become entrepreneurs especially in hi-tech nursery production and food processing where the several protocols developed by the university can be of immense help.
 
He asked the officers to address the issue of senile orchards and lack of proper pruning in orchards. He also emphasized promoting beekeeping for pollination services along with conducting field surveys to get data that could provide better support for the marketing of agricultural produce.
 
Dr. Divender Gupta, Director Extension Education laid special emphasis on ensuring that the farmers' adopt the latest package of practice for different fruits and vegetables recommended by the university. He informed that this was the first offline training at the university since the pandemic and that the university has since been successfully organizing its online training activities for the past several months. Dr. Manica Tomar, training coordinator apprised the participants about the various official social media accounts of the university where technical videos were being shared regularly. Dr. CL Thakur, Joint Director (Training) delivered the vote of thanks. The event was attended by Dr. DD Sharma, Dean COH&F Thunag, Dr. Anil Sood, Joint Director (Communications) along with the extension faculty Dr. PK Baweja, Dr. VK Chaudhary and Dr. Reshma Negi.