At Solan university, Dhankhar calls for youth-driven agri-entrepreneurship

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar today emphasised the need to empower rural youth through entrepreneurship in agriculture while engaging with the students and staff of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni near here.

Marking a personal and emotional moment, he planted a sapling in memory of his late mother, Kesari Devi, in the university campus. He also visited an exhibition organised by various farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and agri-startups, appreciating the innovation and enterprise displayed by young agricultural entrepreneurs.

Addressing the gathering, Dhankhar urged students to act as change-makers in their own farming families. “Boys and girls like you must initiate your farming families into the marketing of their produce,” he said underscoring the urgent need to bridge the gap between farm production and market realisation.

He remarked, “Nowadays, when we talk about Artificial Intelligence, the younger generation is indeed fortunate because they can journey from agriculture intelligence to Artificial Intelligence that will bring about revolutionary change in rural systems.”

Speaking on the roadmap to a developed India, he asserted, “The path to a developed India goes only one way — through the farmer’s field. And that will happen only when you hold the farmer’s hand.”

He described farmers not only as ‘annadata’ (providers of food) but also as ‘bhagya vidhata’ — shapers of our destiny.

Expressing concern over the export-oriented mindset, Dhankhar said, “I find it very troubling when people say: ‘This is export material, this is for export’. Why? Shouldn’t we eat the best, wear the best?” He proudly pointed out how Indians are now leading major global institutions and lauded the rising participation of women in leadership roles.

On the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, the Vice-President urged the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to revise the current Rs 6,000 payout in line with inflation. He said, “If support is given directly to the farmer… If the indirect financial support being given to the agriculture sector is routed directly to farmer families, then, based on my assessment, and that assessment comes after study — where they now get Rs 6,000 annually, they will end up receiving Rs 30,000 a year.”

Highlighting the benefits of direct subsidies, he said, “If the fertiliser subsidy is given directly to farmers, the farmer will decide — do I want to buy that fertiliser, or raise livestock and use cow dung manure instead? The farmer will think — should I do organic farming, natural farming? The farmer will make that decision himself.”

He stressed that rural youth from farming backgrounds must be trained to become entrepreneurs and agri-preneurs “We must build a force of such youth,” he added, describing agriculture as a sector that is “enormous, unmatched and full of potential”, yet still seeing limited direct participation from farmers in economic value chains.

Dhankhar called for greater involvement of farmers in value addition at the farm level while citing the example of the United States, where farming families enjoy a higher average income compared to non-farming families, primarily due to direct government support.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation from students, faculty, researchers and progressive farmers besides three Padma Shri awardees Nek Ram, Vidyanand Saraik and Hariman Sharma whom the Vice-President specially mentioned during his address. Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajeshwar Chandel, MP Shimla Suresh Kashyap were among those present.