Srinagar, June 11: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir today held a daylong industry interface with more than 10 reputed agri-tech industrialists of the country.
According to a statement issued here, the interface between the university’s College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (CoAE&T) and industry was the first of a series of such events being organised by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cell in collaboration with FICCI under the World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) for the institutional development of SKUAST-K.
The aim of the industry interaction series organised together by the College of Agri-engineering and Technology (SKUAST-K) and FICCI is to work with various industrial partners for creating the knowledge-based and technology-driven agri-economy for Jammu and Kashmir, which has more than 70% population dependent on agriculture and its allied sectors.
Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof JP Sharma, who was the chief guest of the occasion, talked about the importance of such interaction with the industry so that the gap between the industrial requirement and academia can be minimised. He stressed that mechanisation should be regional and crop-specific, particularly when the landholding size is shrinking, and water resources are dwindling at both the UT level and national level. He highlighted the need for transformation of the traditional agricultural system from a ‘way to life’ into a dynamic profit-oriented business entity.
Director Planning and PI NAHEP, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, talked about the idea of making the industry our stakeholders for mutual interests. Associate Dean, CoAE&T, Prof Rohitash Kumar provided a detailed structure of the transferable technologies developed by the college.
From the industry side, Amit Shukla, Vice president, marketing, Harvel Irrigation India presented a detailed overview of their innovations to increase the water use efficiency. K Mahamulkar, SBU Head, Netafim Irrigation India revealed that the company can help SKUAST-K in enriching course curriculum and developing crop-specific innovative tools.
Dr DN Kulkarni, President Jain Irrigation System emphasized the need for artificial intelligence-based micro-irrigation to cover the undulating topography of Jammu and Kashmir. Sunil Patil, agricultural engineering associated with Finolex Plasson Industries emphasized cutting edge research and integrated approach can help to sail over dwindling water resources, low productivity and unemployability. Madhuri Dixit Ghugari, Director, AgriNext consultancy, stressed that the students must possess thorough knowledge and work on developing their technical and communication skills. Dr Sangita Ladha, Rivulis Irrigation India expressed her willingness to collaborate on multiple aspects.