By 2020, India to have 50,000 agri graduates'
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Pearl Pallavi Sahu|Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya|Indira Gandhi|Indian Council of Agricultural Research
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Demand
for agriculture courses is rising. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya
(IGKV) vice-chancellor SK Patil talks to Pearl Pallavi Sahu on why and
how agriculture offers a productive and well-rewarding career.
Q - What is the scope of a career in this field?
A - India's population is constantly on the rise, which means that at the moment it is unstable. Estimates show that by 2060 to 2070, population could stabilize which means food requirement will also stabilize. But, at the moment with increasing food requirement, there is need for trained manpower. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) estimates that by 2020, the country will have more than 50,000 graduates in this field.
Q- What new age courses do you offer?
A- We offer many undergraduate and postgraduate courses including regular courses. New age courses we offer are agricultural engineering, forestry, agricultural economics and agri-business management, a new course we have introduced. There are other upcoming courses in this field like applied remote sensing, bioinformatics and nanotech.
Q- Give us details on latest researches carried out by IGKV?
A- We have carried out researches in many areas like technology, resource management and crop varieties. We have done research on 55 new varieties of crops specific to the state. We are now shifting our researches towards nutrition-enriched food. Besides we are also trying to increase content of zinc and iron in rice and develop high rates of these nutrients in crops. Our major research was the in findings of high amounts of zinc in the little millet (kutki), a type of millet crop found in tribal regions of Bastar.
In this crop, zinc content is 40 PPM compared to 27 PPM in other crops. We have also found a gene in the millet crop that increases zinc content in other crops. Through bio-fortification we are trying to use this to increase nutrition in other crops.
Q- IGKV has rare varieties of rice germplasm. How do you plan to utilize them?
A- It is a way in which we are trying to develop high quality rice with a large capacity to hold different nutritional values. We have 24,000 varieties of rice germplasm.
Q- What measures are you taking to support agriculture in Chhattisgarh?
A- We have set up our Krishi Vigyan Kendras in 20 districts of the state. We disseminate technology to farmers in these districts and help them in their cultivations. We are trying to use innovative techniques in large areas of land and support low scale farmers. At the moment we are trying to promote relay cropping and make technology more adaptable to them.
Q- How much has IGKV achieved in your tenure?
A- There has been a lot of development in infrastructure and academic processes. Our prime objective is to produce quality graduates. There are many goals set and though some have been achieved we still have a long way to go.
Q- As an agriculturist, what is your vision?
A- I would want to and am trying to empower marginal and small farmers, who are the largest segment of farmers. I would want to develop models and technology to support such farmers and increase number of trained manpower in this field of science.
Q - What is the scope of a career in this field?
A - India's population is constantly on the rise, which means that at the moment it is unstable. Estimates show that by 2060 to 2070, population could stabilize which means food requirement will also stabilize. But, at the moment with increasing food requirement, there is need for trained manpower. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) estimates that by 2020, the country will have more than 50,000 graduates in this field.
Q- What new age courses do you offer?
A- We offer many undergraduate and postgraduate courses including regular courses. New age courses we offer are agricultural engineering, forestry, agricultural economics and agri-business management, a new course we have introduced. There are other upcoming courses in this field like applied remote sensing, bioinformatics and nanotech.
Q- Give us details on latest researches carried out by IGKV?
A- We have carried out researches in many areas like technology, resource management and crop varieties. We have done research on 55 new varieties of crops specific to the state. We are now shifting our researches towards nutrition-enriched food. Besides we are also trying to increase content of zinc and iron in rice and develop high rates of these nutrients in crops. Our major research was the in findings of high amounts of zinc in the little millet (kutki), a type of millet crop found in tribal regions of Bastar.
In this crop, zinc content is 40 PPM compared to 27 PPM in other crops. We have also found a gene in the millet crop that increases zinc content in other crops. Through bio-fortification we are trying to use this to increase nutrition in other crops.
Q- IGKV has rare varieties of rice germplasm. How do you plan to utilize them?
A- It is a way in which we are trying to develop high quality rice with a large capacity to hold different nutritional values. We have 24,000 varieties of rice germplasm.
Q- What measures are you taking to support agriculture in Chhattisgarh?
A- We have set up our Krishi Vigyan Kendras in 20 districts of the state. We disseminate technology to farmers in these districts and help them in their cultivations. We are trying to use innovative techniques in large areas of land and support low scale farmers. At the moment we are trying to promote relay cropping and make technology more adaptable to them.
Q- How much has IGKV achieved in your tenure?
A- There has been a lot of development in infrastructure and academic processes. Our prime objective is to produce quality graduates. There are many goals set and though some have been achieved we still have a long way to go.
Q- As an agriculturist, what is your vision?
A- I would want to and am trying to empower marginal and small farmers, who are the largest segment of farmers. I would want to develop models and technology to support such farmers and increase number of trained manpower in this field of science.
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