For a second agricultural revolution to take off, merely
improving the production of crops is not enough. What is needed is
intervention through education and extension that caters to the needs of
the real-life situation. Agriculture students with hands-on experience
and entrepreneurial skills are the need of the hour, say agriculture
scientists. Training youngsters in specific areas scientifically would
not only keep them motivated but would also help in alleviating poverty
and unemployment, they say.
The problem of
insufficient personnel could be addressed by giving exclusive vocational
training to develop entrepreneurial skills in students, say professors
of agriculture, who were part of a conference hosted by the Tamil Nadu
Animal and Veterinary Sciences University (TANUVAS) last month.
As
many as 22 vice-chancellors from agriculture universities across the
country participated in the two-day national symposium in Chennai and
deliberated on how best to address the steady fall in agricultural
production. The theme of the conference was ‘Positioning national
agriculture research and education system for vocational education’.
There
is a shortage of manpower in 125 sub-sectors in agriculture and allied
sectors which could be compensated by training youth, according to N.S.
Rathore, deputy director general (education) of the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research. Despite the huge demand for trained personnel,
only 3.3 per cent are taking up vocational training in agriculture,
prof. Rathore says. The ICAR is keen on introducing Rural
Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana, a programme to provide
opportunities to acquire knowledge through experiential learning and
skill development. For this to happen, universities should put in place a
Model Act for better governance, quality assurance through
accreditation and develop competent faculty.
Training women
A
way forward is to train women in larger numbers, says M.C. Varshneya,
president of Indian Agricultural Universities Association (IAUA), which
organised the symposium. In the last four decades, the share of
agricultural GDP has fallen from 51 to just 14 per cent of the total
GDP. As much as 49 per cent of manpower is employed in the agricultural
sector but hardly five per cent of this manpower is skilled, he rues.
With as many as 73 State agriculture universities being part of the
IAUA, training programmes for women could be launched, he says.
Agricultural polytechnics
Gujarat
had launched a polytechnic programme in agriculture and allied sector,
says N.C. Patel, IAUA secretary and vice-chancellor of Anand
Agricultural University. The programme could be strengthened either in
the 10+3 pattern or by introducing certificate programmes, similar to
those offered by Industrial Training Institutes.
TANUVAS
vice-chancellor S. Thilagar says the recommendations made in each of
the six panel discussions at the symposium have been sent to the
association for approval.
Source : The Hindu
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