A large number of professors of economics gathered at the national workshop organised to mark the birth centenary of Professor Bhavaraju Sarveswara Rao.
The two-day national seminar on Sustainable agriculture development: issues and challenges’ organised by Andhra University Department of Economics and Agro Economic Research Centre and Hyderabad-based NGO Swadhikar got under way here on Sunday.
It was an emotional get-together for most of the professors and their students at the department which counts among its eminent alumni, a number of economists, 14 vice-chancellors and a large number of bureaucrats and a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, among others.
Adding to the academic interest was the release of the compilation of works of Prof. Sarveswara Rao, including his seminal work on the balance of payments of India at the turn of the last century.
Speaking at the inaugural, Andhra University Vice-Chancellor G.S.N. Raju underscored the need for a second Green Revolution by adopting sustainable farming techniques.
Maintaining of soil health was the most crucial aspect of sustainable agriculture, Vice-Chancellor of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University A. Padma Raju said delivering the keynote address.
Advocate of zero budget natural farming Subhash Palekar called for reviving farming techniques in which cow was the key. Organic farming or use of chemical fertilizers was not sustainable, he pointed out.
An alumnus of the department and former chairman of AP State Council of Higher Education K.C. Reddy and several others recalled the contributions of the late Prof. Sarveswara Rao to the growth of Andhra University and his contributions to economic theory.
