ICAR DG lauds farmers for stubble management

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, hosted a stakeholders’ meet on crop residue management (CRM), chaired by vice-chancellor Dr JPS Gill and attended by farmers, researchers, extension experts and representatives from government and non-government agencies.

Chief guest Dr ML Jat, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), lauded Punjab’s farmers for their encouraging response to CRM practices. He urged the stakeholders to work collectively for the development and adoption of eco-friendly technologies, outlining five priority goals —- skill development, custom hiring centres, economic viability, soil sampling and learning landscapes to assess CRM’s long-term impact.

Welcoming the dignitaries, Dr RS Grewal, Director of Extension Education, highlighted the harmful effects of stubble burning on both humans and animals. Dr Parvender Sheoran, Director, ATARI Zone-I, ICAR, appreciated Punjab’s farmers for reducing farm fire incidents, noting a 40 per cent decline compared to last year and an overall 98 per cent reduction since 2020.

Farmers practicing CRM for over a decade raised concerns about timely availability of implements, uneven subsidies, frequent machine design changes, high costs, discouragement of ex-situ management and the need to strengthen local cooperative societies.

Vice-chancellor Dr Gill shared that at the university dairy farm, paddy straw has successfully replaced wheat straw as feed for the past two-three years, yielding good production results.

Stone laid for International hostel at vet varsity

Dr ML Jat also laid the foundation stone of a state-of-the-art international hostel at GADVASU. The two-storey facility will house 20 rooms for 40 guests, equipped with modern amenities and a recreation lobby, strengthening the university’s global academic outreach. Dr Jat also visited the university’s dairy and fish farms and multi-specialty veterinary hospital, appreciating its work in veterinary services, dairy breed development and fisheries.