In addition to the second Green Revolution, the country is in need of an agricultural machinery revolution to tide over the present farm labour crisis and improve the efficiency of farm operations, K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), said in Coimbatore on Tuesday.
Inaugurating a two-day “Calorie 2012”, an all-India seminar on “Engineering Interventions for Profitable Agriculture” at the TNAU, the Vice-Chancellor said that there was a proposal to train Standard X students who had failed the examination, for two years in repair and maintenance of agricultural machinery, thereby enabling them to start machinery rental and repair services in rural areas. This was a good strategy to retain youth in villages.
“Under the XII Five Year Plan, it is planned to launch the Pan India Science and Technology Missions across the nation. These missions will be launched to include four major areas, viz., affordable health care, energy and environment, research and development for water, and food and nutrition. The National Mission on Energy and Environment will give thrust to bio-fuels co-operatives in rural areas,development of energy efficient technology and bio-energy,” Mr. Ramasamy said.
Pioneer
Pointing out that TNAU was a pioneer in assessing the wind potential for the entire State for erecting wind mills, the Vice-Chancellor said the R&D efforts on bio-energy and bio-fuels would receive major impetus in the coming years. The Department of Nano Science and Technology of the university would work to develop bio-sensors, to be applied to crop health and animal health.
S. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Institution of Engineers (India) Coimbatore, called for the need to manufacture indigenous design and fabrication of farm machinery rather than import them from other countries.
Experts from the Institution of Engineers (India) and TNAU, also spoke.
