Data-driven farming: Palampur agri university organises workshop for researchers

Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV), Palampur, organised a three-day workshop on “SPSS for Agricultural Research” under the SCSP Plan at the Department of Physical Sciences and Languages, College of Basic Sciences. The programme was designed to equip researchers, postgraduate scholars and professionals with advanced statistical skills and hands-on training in SPSS for agricultural studies.

In his message, Vice-Chancellor Dr Naveen Kumar emphasised that strengthening research capacity through modern statistical tools is a top priority for the university. He underlined that data-driven agriculture holds the key to sustainable solutions and expressed confidence that initiatives like this workshop will help young researchers integrate analytical precision with field realities. He also commended the department for procuring the latest licensed SPSS software for the benefit of scholars.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Dr Rajan Katoch, Dean of the College, as chief guest. In his address, Dr Katoch stressed the importance of adopting data-driven approaches in agriculture and urged participants to make the most of the training. He also thanked the Vice-Chancellor for his constant guidance and support.

The resource persons for the workshop included Dr Ajit Sharma, Assistant Professor (Statistics), College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri; Dr Manish Kr Sharma, Professor & Head, Division of Statistics and Computer Sciences, SKUAST Jammu and Dr Manish Goyal, Assistant Professor (Statistics), Institute of Integrated and Honours Studies, Kurukshetra University.

On the occasion, the department also announced the procurement of the latest SPSS version worth Rs 5 lakh, which will significantly benefit postgraduate students and researchers in carrying out high-quality statistical analysis. The workshop was coordinated by Dr Arun Kumar, Dr Banti Kumar and Dr Abhishek Guleria from the College. Expressing gratitude to the dignitaries and participants, they noted that the programme successfully blended theory with practical sessions, thereby enriching the research skills of all attendees.