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BHUBANESWAR: There are few takers for agriculture as a career option of late. So it is high time proper policies were formulated to make agriculture education more attractive and contemporary, said R B Singh, president of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) here on Wednesday on the eve of XIth National Agricultural Science Congress. The theme of the congress is 'Agricultural education: shaping India's future'. It will be held at Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here.
"You name a challenge, it is there in the agriculture education sector. The first career choice of any bright student is either medicine or engineering or management. Agriculture rarely figures in the top five. This has resulted in shortage of human resources in the field. We need to address this problem on a priority basis," Singh said while addressing the media.
Other major challenges faced by the agricultural education are lack of commitment of government towards the subject, growing level of depression among agri-professionals, fragmentation of universities and shortage of faculties, he maintained.
Former vice chancellor of OUAT and convener of the congress D P Ray echoed the same views.
The three-day congress will chalk out a road map to meet challenges relating to food and nutritional security, livelihood to rural people, profitability and sustainability of agriculture in globally-competitive scenario.
As many as 655 scientists from India and countries like the US, France, Brazil, Japan, and Netherlands will participate in the annual meet.
"NAAS is the apex body of scientists and think tanks in the agriculture sector in the country, whose suggestions are very important for policy making. So the discussions in the congress are very important for the country, especially Odisha which has an agriculture university," Singh added.
There will also be an exhibition of scientific developments in agriculture sector and interactions with farmers during the conference.
"This is probably for the first time in Odisha that so many institutes of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) are putting up stalls to display growth and development of agricultural science and technology," said Ray.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/New-policy-needed-to-make-agriculture-education-more-attractive-Expert/articleshow/18374668.cms
"You name a challenge, it is there in the agriculture education sector. The first career choice of any bright student is either medicine or engineering or management. Agriculture rarely figures in the top five. This has resulted in shortage of human resources in the field. We need to address this problem on a priority basis," Singh said while addressing the media.
Other major challenges faced by the agricultural education are lack of commitment of government towards the subject, growing level of depression among agri-professionals, fragmentation of universities and shortage of faculties, he maintained.
Former vice chancellor of OUAT and convener of the congress D P Ray echoed the same views.
The three-day congress will chalk out a road map to meet challenges relating to food and nutritional security, livelihood to rural people, profitability and sustainability of agriculture in globally-competitive scenario.
As many as 655 scientists from India and countries like the US, France, Brazil, Japan, and Netherlands will participate in the annual meet.
"NAAS is the apex body of scientists and think tanks in the agriculture sector in the country, whose suggestions are very important for policy making. So the discussions in the congress are very important for the country, especially Odisha which has an agriculture university," Singh added.
There will also be an exhibition of scientific developments in agriculture sector and interactions with farmers during the conference.
"This is probably for the first time in Odisha that so many institutes of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) are putting up stalls to display growth and development of agricultural science and technology," said Ray.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/New-policy-needed-to-make-agriculture-education-more-attractive-Expert/articleshow/18374668.cms
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