Dr. Mohapatra was speaking at the inaugural session of the “Annual Conference of Vice-Chancellors of State Agricultural Universities - 2022” which was organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Delhi from 12 to 13 April, 2022.

He stressed on the power of togetherness for reinforcing India’s progress in the agricultural and other sectors. Dr. Mohapatra said, “Now, is the time to critically analyse our relevance in the agricultural sector’s progress in the country and reposition ourselves”. He urged the agricultural scientists to look for ways to make the agricultural industry more relevant.

Sanjay Garg, Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR) said, “The paradigm and landscape of the agricultural education in the country has undergone a significant change in the last 60 to 70 Years”.

He accentuated on the establishment of the Agricultural University in Pantnagar in 1960 which paved the way for the establishment of the other Agri Universities in the country. Regarding agriculture as the backbone of the Indian economy, he emphasized on agricultural education as the bone marrow to strengthen it.

Sanjiv Kumar, Additional Secretary (DARE) & Financial Advisor (ICAR) stressed on promoting more Start-Ups in the country. He also said that maintaining good quality of content on the ICAR’s YouTube Page is important.

Prof. (Dr.) Anil Kumar Srivastava, Chairman of Agricultural Scientists’ Recruitment Board applauded the ICAR’s Scientists’ efforts that have made the country self-sufficient in the food crops. He also appreciated the unconditional support provided by the ICAR agri experts during the COVID-19 Pandemic period.

Dr. R.C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), ICAR outlined the main objectives of the Conference. He talked about the major achievements made by the various ICAR Institutes in the varied arenas of agricultural sciences.

The VCs of State Agricultural Universities; Deputy Dir General of ICAR; Senior Officials of ICAR & NAHEP along with the Heads of KVKs and Agricultural Scientists took part in the Conference. The Dignitaries also released various ICAR Publications on the occasion.

Source: krishi Jagran