Encourage youth to take up farming: Expert

​Hyderabad: Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), in association with Indian Agricultural Universities’ Association (IAUA), is organising the seventh brainstorming session on the theme ‘Youth & Smart Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities’ here on Wednesday and Thursday The session was inaugurated by Dr N S Rathore, DDG (Education), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rathore said there was tremendous potential to harness youth energies into smart agriculture. He said India had the edge today with 57 percent of youth below 30 years. He also stressed the need for research efforts to improve productivity and bring agricultural literacy in the country. “Education and entrepreneurship need to go hand in hand to encourage youth to take up farming as a profession,” he observed.

Dr V Praveen Rao, Vice-Chancellor, PJTSAU, welcomed the Vice-Chancellors of the member universities of IAUA, Directors of ICAR institutes and representatives of private sectors. He explained about the activities of PJTSAU especially aimed at skill development of farmers in Telangana State. AAU Vice-Chancellor Dr N C Patel, in his introductory remarks, gave foreground for brain-storming session and opined that the policy support and HRD should be priority for encouraging youth to become job providers rather than job seekers.