Hyderabad: The Central and State governments have initiated several schemes for the welfare of the farmers and development of the farming sector for enhancing the farmer’s income, said Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor here after inaugurating the Regional workshop, at university auditorium in PJTSAU on Monday.
The Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University(PJTSAU) is hosting a “Regional Workshop on Youth as Torch Bearers of Business-Oriented Agriculture in South India” , in collaboration with TAAS (Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences), APAARI (Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions) and ICAR – NAARM.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, efforts for implementing the programs such as doubling of farmers’ income, Farm Insurance, Input support scheme to the farmers for improving their livelihoods. Governor has also appreciated the efforts of the state government for implementing several good programs for the betterment of the farmers in the state. She said that Telangana is rapidly moving forward in agriculture and stood an example for many states in the country by implementing several programs. Governor has said that, in next month’s governor’s meeting to be held in New Delhi, she has chosen to talk and make a presentation on agriculture and schemes implemented by the Central Government as well as the Telangana state government.
The Governor further said that innovations are very much needed in the agriculture sector for making agriculture a profitable venture. The youth of India must utilize the opportunities available in the agricultural sector, and become torchbearers for business oriented agriculture, she said. She urged that efforts have to be made to work hard to bring back the glory of agriculture. The innovative ideas in this sector by the youth and budding entrepreneurs may really be helpful to the farming community at large, she added. She also said the Mahatma Gandhi’s quote that “ Farmer is the father of the world” and agriculture is his culture, she said. Governor has appreciated the Vice-Chancellor Dr. V Praveen Rao for organizing such an important regional workshop and also appreciated him for working for the betterment of the agriculture sector in Telangana. She also praised the Agriculture minister for practicing agriculture and exporting mangoes to European countries.
Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy, has stated that, the State Government’s initiatives for the farmers like farm loan waiver, subsidization of farm mechanization, micro-irrigation, uninterrupted power supply for agricultural purpose etc. and the most important initiatives taken under agriculture sector– RythuBandhu and Farmers Group Life Insurance (RythuBima) have been acclaimed throughout the country and also at International level (FAO).
The Government of Telangana also launched “Mission Kakatiya” to revive and rejuvenate tank irrigation, re-engineer the canal irrigation system. Extension service has strengthened and its services are made available by providing one Agriculture Officer for each Mandal in the State. Horticulture is also identified as one of the focus sectors and crop colonies are being promoted to ensure remunerative income to farmers and promoting the food processing sector in the State.
After the formation of Telangana State, the Government has permitted to start new Colleges of Agriculture, Food Science & Technology and polytechnics to meet the increasing demand for trained manpower for Agriculture and allied sector in the State.
Attracting youth towards agriculture is a challenging task in a present economic and competitive environment, said the former Director-General of ICAR Dr. RS Paroda. He said that there is a need to encourage the youth to become successful entrepreneurs and ensure sustainable growth in the agricultural sector.
Dr. Praveen Rao delivered the welcome address and he explained the background of organizing the Regional workshop. According to the VC, there is a need to INSPIRE – Sow an idea, skill and sustain, plan and precipitate, innovate through IoT, Reach out to technology providers, finance providers and finally end-users to sell the product for making the farm a viable business enterprise. There are several corporate organizations, community-based organizations, development sector organizations, farmer cooperatives, processing industries, input providers, public domain institutions that have the know-how to empower the interested young members in the art of farming for profit while ensuring the welfare of communities.BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman, CLIENT, Dr. Peter Carberry, Director General ICRISAT also spoke on this occasion.
Later the Governor inaugurated the Agri exhibition near the venue. In these two days, regional workshops about 400 agricultural graduates from southern states were participating and several agricultural universities vice-chancellors, progressive framers, entrepreneurs were also participating.
