Join agriculture sector, agri varsity’s ex-VC urges youth

The former Vice-Chancellor of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Ashok Sarial, today appealed the youth to join agriculture operation as it was the need of the hour.

Addressing an online awareness programme for youth of the state, he said it was agriculture education where maximum scholarships and grants were provided by the state government and the Government of India, with ample opportunities for the farm graduates.

He highlighted the key features of the new education policy which would further strengthen and sharpen the skill component in agricultural education. He said there was need to renovate farm education to face the emerging challenges.

Sarial said a massive awareness campaign should be launched to raise awareness about farm education to attract meritorious students in farm education. He said stronger links among schools, colleges, universities and other institutions should be established.

He said a blended model of learning by integrating digital medium of education with existing system will enhance the proficiency of students. “By establishing forward-looking innovative mechanism for human resource development and promotion of entrepreneurship competitions for innovative young entrepreneurs, education in agriculture and allied sectors can be modernised,” said Prof Sarial.

He added that the new education policy envisages adding additional disciplines in the existing agricultural subjects to make it more lucrative. There was needed to develop synergy among different disciplines to enhance the proficiency of human resources, he said.

He also expressed grave concern over the large chunk of land which had been left uncultivated in the state. He said the Agriculture Department could play a significant role and encourage farmers to adopt crop diversification.