The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Expert wants farm graduates trained in agri-business

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 20, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Expert wants farm graduates trained in agri-business

By Our Staff Reporter

Alpha Raj who won three gold medals.

HYDERABAD, FEB. 19. The Director-General of Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Mangala Rai, has underscored the need to train agriculture graduates to start their own agri-business, preferably in rural areas so as to generate employment for themselves and others.

Delivering the 36th convocation address of the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agriculture University, here on Saturday, Dr. Rai said the agricultural education system should aim at producing professionals and academicians who were self-confident, self-reliant and self-competing. The establishment of agri-clinics would enable farmers to access desired information, services and remedies to their problems in shortest possible time.

New courses

Dr. Rai felt that new courses like bio-diversity, sustainability, IPM, INM, environmental sciences, agri-business management, biotechnology, agri-meteorology, agro-ecology, trade and export, GIS application should be introduced.

He observed that unless agriculture became economically rewarding, it would be difficult to attract or retain youth in farming. Growing rural unemployment and urban migration was because of the inability to generate gainful employment, he added.

Degrees presented

The ANGRAU Chancellor and Governor, Sushil Kumar Shinde, presented degrees and diplomas to 482 candidates in-person and 430 in-absentia. In all 912 candidates received their doctoral, master and bachelors degrees in agriculture, horticulture, agricultural engineering, veterinary sciences, home sciences, dairying and forestry sciences.

Fifteen gold medals and one book prize were presented to the candidates.

M. Alpha Raj was awarded three gold medals for topping the Bachelors course in veterinary sciences and animal husbandry.

N. P. Easwara Reddy, Associate Professor (Plant Pathology), S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, was presented the Veerapaneni Narasimham memorial prize. The A. V. Krishnaiah memorial prize was given to A. Narisi Reddy, senior scientist (Plant Breeding, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Lam and the Sugarcane Growers Association of the KCP Sugar and Industries Corporation Limited award was bagged by P. Ravindra Babu, senior scientist (Soil sciences), Saline Water Scheme, Bapatla.

The Vice-Chancellor, S. Raghuvardhan Reddy, presented a report.

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