Only research benefiting farmers will be recognised, says Governor

SHIMLA: Researchers and students in farm universities in the state will no longer be able get the doctorate or higher degrees on the basis of abstract and survey-based research with no link to the issues concerning the farmers on field.

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 12

Researchers and students in farm universities in the state will no longer be able get the doctorate or higher degrees on the basis of abstract and survey-based research with no link to the issues concerning the farmers on field.

Governor Acharya Devvrat, who is Chancellor of Dr Y S Parmar University for Horticulture and Forestry (Solan) and CSK Agriculture University (Palampur) and also an exponent of organic farming, has instructed the authorities concerned that only basic and applied research is promoted and its result should be visible on the ground.

The researchers seeking Ph.D and higher degrees have been told to link at least 10 farmers with their research, which should be tested on the field and in case these parameters are not met, the research would not be recognised, Advisor to Governor Shashikant Sharma said.

The Governor, who has been stressing on organic farming and zero tilling, had also raised this issue in Conference of Governors held in Delhi yesterday, he said adding that the agriculture research should be field based while horticulture research should be conducted in the orchards.

The Governor, who is well aware of research being conducted in farm universities which is more of academic interest which neither benefits the farmers in the field nor addresses the emerging problems and issues and categorically, pointed out that the stress should be on applied research which would directly help the farmers in solving their problems.

Research done by a large number of Ph.D students in farm universities is confined to surveys conducted without proper field study and aimed only at acquiring the degree with no use to farmers. It is time that the research focused on areas like low cost agriculture, increasing the yield and production and developing disease-resistant varieties requiring less quantity of water and organic farming.

The instruction issued by the Governor would go a long way in motivating the teachers and researchers to focus on problems, needs and innovations in farm sector.

The Governor also called for field based research in floriculture and improving the breed of animals and said that the endeavour is to make Himachal second organic state of the country after Sikkim. As animal husbandry and organic farming are closely linked, integrated research with involvement of farmers in twin areas would be path breaking, he said.