Catch them young appears to be the new mantra of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). For, the council is thinking of recommending to the authorities to introduce agriculture in the school syllabus in a bid to attract students towards agricultural education and research right from the tender age.
Speaking at the inauguration of the global alumni meet organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru Alumni Association here, ICAR Director-General S. Ayyappan said presently most of the talented youth were choosing medical and engineering courses, especially IT.
“There is a dire need to attract talent to agricultural education to help the country’s farm sector. To ensure this, we must start creating awareness among them about agriculture and agri-education right from school,” he said.
Stressing the need to create public awareness that agriculture is actually a “harvest of hope” and “not despair”, he made an appeal to the retired agricultural scientists to join hands with ICAR in mentoring farmers and taking forward the mission of knowledge-based farming.
“Farmers have often expressed a view that there is no substitute to a scientist of standing visiting them to provide first-hand assistance,” he said, requesting retired scientists to visit fields and district-level Krishi Vigyan Kendras as and when they get time to share their experience and expertise.
Pointing out that UAS-B Alumni Association with 9,600 members was one of the unique ones in the country that had statutory status and was known for the high reputation of its members, he called upon the association to mentor the agricultural sector of not just the State, but also the country.
Expressing concern that the latest survey by ICAR had put the average post-harvest losses of various crops at Rs. 95,000 crore a year, he called for giving impetus to food processing and value addition to prevent such losses.
* The two-day global alumni meet of the UAS-B Alumni Association begins
* Home Minister G. Parameshwara, ICAR Director-general S. Ayyappan and several bureaucrats are among UAS-B alumnus
