UHF Directorate of Extension Education organized 349 training last year

The Directorate of Extension Education (DEE) at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni has become the one-stop destination for farmers from the state looking to hone their skills in the field of agriculture and horticulture. Building on its performance in 2017, the Directorate organized 349 training in 2018 through which latest technology and information was disseminated to the farmers. The Directorate of Extension Education at the University’s main campus at Nauni and the five Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) at Kandaghat, Kinnaur, Tabo, Chamba and Rohru have played a leading role in the transfer of latest agricultural know-how to the farming community. In 2018, the Directorate organized 54 training programme which benefitted 1443 farmers. These trainings covered topics like the production of fruits and vegetables, floriculture, beekeeping, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, post-harvest technology, natural farming etc. Over 1760 farmers also benefitted from the 60 exposure visits conducted by the Directorate. In addition, the KVKs situated in the various agro-climatic zones of the state also organised 295 training programmes which were attended by 13080 farmers while another 1055 benefitted from 68 exposure visits. The KVKs also organised 14 farmer seminars, 33 farmer-scientist interactions which helped them to reach an additional 4327 farmers. The DEE is not only catering to the training needs of farmers from Himachal, but also conducted training camps for agriculturalists from outside the state including Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. Appreciating the efforts of the scientists and extension workers of the university, Dr Vijay Singh Thakur, UHF’s Director of Extension Education said, “The University has been constantly striving to reach more and more farmers through its various programmes. The past year has been really fruitful and we have been successful in catering to the training needs of farmers from all districts of the state.” He added that in 2017, the university organized 247 training programmes, which were attended by 11000 farmers. The Directorate also addressed queries through its Kisan Call Center and the courier service. Besides successfully implementing the ‘Mera Gaon, Mera Gaurav’ programme in which the university has set up 32 teams of scientists, the university also covered many important farming issues in the radio and television talks held from time to time. The KVKs and the DEE were also involved in celebrating various national events like the National Women Farmers Day, Nutrition Day, Krishi Unnanti Divas etc. Several publications were also brought out by the Directorate last year. University Vice-Chancellor Dr HC Sharma congratulated the scientists on the achievement.