Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Thursday said that agriculture and allied sectors offer growth opportunities to the farmers and agripreneurs.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that addressing the joint session of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Indian Agricultural Universities Association at Shalimar Campus of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), the LG said, “J&K’s agriculture and allied sectors powered by Holistic Agriculture Development Programme are offering multi-fold growth opportunities to our farmers and agripreneurs.”
The session was attended by the vice chancellors of various universities, experts from India, and young leaders from nine countries and deliberations were held on redefining agricultural education to leadership, entrepreneurship, employment, and discovery.
Sharing the transformation taking place in the agriculture and allied sectors of J&K, Sinha said that the new innovation in agricultural science and technology has been continuously evolving and Agri 4.0 technology, its application, and research was breaching new frontiers.
He congratulated the members of the agricultural universities, agripreneurs, experts, and faculty of SKUAST-K, and hardworking farmers of the country for the robust growth in the sector.
“Our agricultural universities with their futuristic and courageous initiatives are leading the path of dynamic economic growth, excellent collaboration, and increasing global cooperation to redefine agricultural education and skill development,” the LG said.
He said that the success of SKUAST-K in promoting agricultural education through international collaboration, assistance in policymaking, and entrepreneurship was a living proof that given a proper enabling environment, J&K’s experts and scientists working in this important sector were second to none.
Highlighting the reforms introduced across the sectors, Sinha said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, J&K had come a long way in the last four years.
“From new highways, rural roads to agriculture and industry 4.0 technology we are witnessing the beginning of a qualitative change and tremendous growth in every sector,” he said.
The LG also made valuable suggestions for a sustainable and commercially viable agriculture sector.
“Our future goals must focus on commercial agriculture; bringing rural innovation into mainstream, encouraging interdisciplinary approach, inspiring youth for integrated farming and transformation of our universities into the cradle of future entrepreneurs,” he said.
Sinha released the Srinagar Declaration of the Indian Agricultural Universities Association, a multi-institutional MoU among all the state agricultural universities as a part of the educational reform programme of SKUAST.
President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe shared his views on increasing global cooperation in the agriculture sector.
Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta; Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K, Nazir A Ganai,; Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, Shailendra Kumar; and Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, R C Agrawal were also present on the occasion.