Karnataka - Belgaum   

Address rural problems, says VC

Staff Correspondent

`Agro-tourism can generate job opportunities at various levels'

PRIZED POSSESSION: Visvesvaraya Technological University Vice-Chancellor K. Balaveera Reddy felicitating former Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, M. Mahadevappa in Belgaum on Tuesday.

Belgaum: Former Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, and advisor of JSS Rural Development Foundation, Mysore, M. Mahadevappa, underscored the need to address problems confronting rural India, if agriculture has to be made an attractive occupation for youth.

He was replying to a felicitation by the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) here on Monday, according to a release.

Empowerment the key

He stressed the need for empowerment of rural people by creating urban facilities at home and checking migration to cities. This calls for a drastic shift from family farming to surplus farming and then to "entrepreneurship development in agriculture".

The critical inputs may be produced at the village level in the form of cottage industry by rural youth. Bee-keeping is an important input in agriculture as it promotes pollination of crops, besides creating job opportunities for the unemployed youth.

Agro-tourism is a recent development, which provides newer means of income generation in rural areas, as a subsidiary industry to farming. Urban visitors enjoy a unique experience in the countryside. Agro-tourism promotes learning and exposes urban people to "real India". It can generate employment opportunities at various levels, including self-employment, thus giving a boost to rural economy. VTU Vice-Chancellor K. Balaveera Reddy announced that seminars and workshops will be held on various topics and issues concerning agriculture for f farmers. Registrar M. Shivakumar and Dr. V. Sridhar (Evaluation) were present.

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Address rural problems, says VC

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