Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) · 2016-03-31 · Attracting and Retaining...

Souvenir

National Youth Convention

Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture

(ARYA)


(ARYA)

January 27, 2016 at NASC Complex, New Delhi

Organized by

Indian Council of Agricultural Research &

All India Agricultural Student's Association

Co-sponsored by

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National Youth Convention-2016

National Youth ConventionSouvenir

Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)

January 27 2016, NASC Complex, New Delhi-110012

Organized by

Indian Council of Agricultural Research & All India Agricultural Student’s Association

Co-sponsored by

CHAMF MDHP MONSANTO RRIMT

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©Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & All India Agricultural Student’s Association (AIASA)

AddressAll India Agricultural Student’s Association A/G-4, NASC Complex Pusa New Delhi – 110012, India E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.aiasa.org.in

Editorial TeamDr. M. K. Verma Dr Mahesh C. Yadav Sudhir Kumar Dr Sahadeva Singh Dr. P. Adhiguru Kuleshwar Prasad Sahu JyotiNishad SumitJha Oinam Washington Singh LoknathMaitry Preeti Singh Himanshu

Opinions in this publication are of authors and not necessarily of the organizers

Correct citation: Verma, M.K., Yadav, M.C., Kumar Sudhir, Singh Sahadeva, Adhiguru, P., Sahu, Kuleshwar P., Nishad, Jyoti, Jha Sumit, Washington Oinam, Maitry Loknath, Singh Preeti and Himanshu. (Eds.). 2016. National Youth Convention on Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) : Souvenir & Abstract, Published by the All India Agricultural Student’s Association A/G-4, NASC Complex, Pusa Campus, New Delhi – 110012, India

Published byAll India Agricultural Student’s Association (AIASA) A/G-4, NASC Complex Pusa New Delhi – 110012, India E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.aiasa.org.in

Printed atVenus Printers and Publishers, B-62/8, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi - 110 028Tel.: (Off.) 45576780, Mobile : 98100 89097, E-mail : [email protected]

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MESSAGE

India is a land of the Youth and agriculture is the major private sector in the country. Agriculture promotes job led growth while modern industry promotes jobless growth. Jobless growth is joyless growth. Therefore, the National Youth Convention designed to attract and retain youth in farming. For this purpose, agriculture has to become both knowledge and technology intensive and economically rewarding. I hope the convention will lead to the development of a Panchasheel for the young farmers consisting of the following steps:• Attention to soil health care, management and enhancement• Harvesting rain water and utilising it effectively to get more crop per drop• Technology and inputs particularly in the fields of biotechnology, space technology, information

technology, renewable energy technology and nuclear technology• Credit and insurance• Value addition to primary products and assure and remunerative marketing

I hope the National Youth Convention will lead to the development and strengthening of young farmers Panchasheel. I wish the Convention much success.

M S Swaminathan

Prof. M S Swaminathan Emeritus Chairman and Chief Mentor

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation 3rd Cross Street, Institutional Area

Taramani Chennai 600 113, India

[email protected] Tel: +91 (44) 22541229, +91 (44) 22541698

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Foreward

The Souvenir is being brought out on the occasion of the “National Youth Convention on Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)” jointly organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and All India Agricultural Student’s Association (AIASA). The convention is also co-sponsored by Central Herbal Agro Marketing Federation of India (CHAMF), Maa Danteshwari Herbal Products Limited (MDHP), RR Institute of Modern Technology (RRIMT) and Monsanto. The souvenir contains full length papers and abstracts of on major theme areas namely ICAR and DAC initiatives for youth in agriculture; Agripreneurship Development through Institutional Linkages; Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture and Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for Agripreneurship Development.

The deliberations at the convention is expected to contribute for policy directions which are expected to help for attracting and retaining youth in agriculture. Further, such policy dimension will facilitate giving momentum to startups and agripreneurship in Agriculture.

The publication has been made possible by the cooperation and support of the participants who readily agreed to prepare the valuable articles and took part in the deliberations. We also take this opportunity to thank all the participants, organizers, and sponsors of the convention for their advices, physical and financial support in organization of the convention.

New Delhi-110012 (A. K. SINGH) January 23, 2016 Deputy Director General (Agri. Extn.)

ICAR, New Delhi

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Preface

The Souvenir is being brought out on the occasion of the "National Youth Convention on Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)-2016" is jointly organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and All India Agricultural Student’s Association (AIASA). This convention is financially supported by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Central Herbal Agro Marketing Federation of India (CHAMF), Maa Danteshwari Herbal Products Limited (MDHP), RR Institute of Modern Technology (RRIMT) and Monsanto. The souvenir contains articles full length papers, lead lectures and abstracts of national importance with respect to: ICAR and DAC initiatives for youth in agriculture; Agripreneurship Development through Institutional & Industrial Linkages; Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture (Indian Agriculture Service) and Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for Agripreneurship Development.

The ICAR is the apex body at national level for development of agriculture in terms of research, education and dissemination of technologies at farm level. The AIASA is a professional society of present and former students in the field of Agriculture, Veterinary, Dairy, Horticulture, Fisheries, Forestry, Home science, Sericulture, ABM and other allied sciences, registered under Societies Registration act 1860. The AIASA advocates for resolving the long pending issues of creation of the All India Cadre of “Indian Agriculture Service” for appointment of right person at the right place. Grant of professional status to agriculture sector at par with other professions is also a prime demand of time for better job opportunities and career advancement of the personnel serving the primary sector. The main mission is to empower youth in agriculture for development of agriculture and the nation. It is essential to foster the bond between agricultural students & professionals and to raise the voice for techno-administrative agricultural reforms and advancement in agriculture by involvement of agriculturists in policy formulation and implementation.

India, to provide food security, employment and livelihood support in 21st century would require a very significant contribution of Techno-Administrative Agricultural support mechanism. In the present system there are crucial deficiencies with respect to the poor delivery of inputs and services for agricultural production system, e.g. defects in the framework of policy formulation, weaknesses in organization and institutional structures, procedural ineffectiveness, lack of coordination between different agencies and implementation of agricultural development programme by general bureaucrats.

In the backdrop of the addressing the above issues the AIASA has timely organized this convention. The deliberations at the convention is expected to generate crucial policy directions which are expected to help restructuring process for Techno-Administrative Agricultural Service mechanism.

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The publication has been made possible by the cooperation and support of the participants who readily agreed to prepare the valuable articles and took part in the deliberations. We also take this opportunity to thank all the participants, organizers, and sponsors of the convention for their advices, physical and financial support in organization of the convention.

New Delhi-12 (Sudhir Kumar) January 23, 2016 National President, AIASA

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vf[ky Hkkjrh; Ñf"k Nk= la?kAll India Agricultural Students Association (AIASA)

(Registered Society under Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860)A/G-4, National Societies Block,

National Agriculture Science Centre (NASC) Complex, New Delhi-12 Website: www.aiasa.org.in

Patrons: Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, MSSR Sh. Jagdambika Pal, Member, Parliament Dr. Ashwani Kumar, IFS, DG-ICFRE Lt. Gen (Dr.) N Mohanty, Ex. President, VCI Dr. R.P. Singh, Executive Secretary, IAUA

Honorary Chairman Advisory Board: Dr. Gurbachan Singh, Chairman, ASRB

Central Cabinet (2015): Mr. Sudhir Kumar, National President Mr. Gurraj Singh Dhillon, Chairman, ACC Dr M. K. Verma, Chairman, Discipline Committee Dr Amit Kumawat, Chairman, NAEC Mr. A. Khuzandhaivel Pillai, Sr. Vice-President Mr. Prakash Kr Jha, Chief Coordinator Mr. Rajveer Choudhary, General Secretary Ms. Ajita Gupta, National Treasurer Mr. Biswajit Mondal, Sr. Advisor (Executive) Mr. Ranvijay Pratap Singh, Secretary (GC)

Vice-Presidents: Mr. Kishan Lal Naga (WZ) Mr. Smruti R Mohapatra (EZ) Mr. Laishra S. Singh (NEZ) Mr. Ajay Verma (CZ) Mr. N Promod Kumar (SZ) Mr. Prem Prakash (NZ)

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Joint Secretaries: Mr. Jigar H Gohil (WZ) Mr. Chandan Maity (EZ) Mr. Wasifur Rahman (NEZ) Mr. Suryakant Nagre (CZ) Mr. R Deeivegan (SZ) Mr. Pramod K Mishra (NZ)

Member Sect, ACC: Mr. Ankit Kr. Ghorai

States Cabinets: States Presidents-28 States Secretaries-28 States Coordinators-28 Univ. Coordinators (52)

College/Coordinators: 800 Nos.

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National Youth Conventionon Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)27th January, 2016, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi-110012, India

Organizing Committee

Chairman : Dr A. K. Singh, DDG (Agri. Extension), ICAR

Co-Chairman : Sudhir Kumar, National President, AIASA

Convener : Dr Sahadeva Singh, Chief Policy Advisor- AIASA Dr P. Adhiguru, Pr. Scientist (Ag. Extension), ICAR

Organizing Secretary : Kuleshwar Prasad Sahu, Chief Coordinator, AIASA

Members : Prof. (Dr.) R.P. Singh, IAUA-Member

Dr Mahesh Yadav, Principal Scientist, ICAR-NBPGR -Member Dr. M.K. Verma, Principal Scientist ICAR-IARI, Member Dr. Raja Ram Tripathi, Chairman, CHAMF-Chhattisgarh - Member Dr. S.K. Singh, Deputy Director, Dept of Agriculture, UP - Member Dr. VenkateshHubbali, Director, DCCD-Kochi (Kerala) – Member Rajvee rChoudhary, General Secretary, AIASA, SHIATS Dr. R. Vinoth, National Secretary (NAEC), TNAU, Coimbatore Member Dr. Umesh Deshmukh, IGKVV - Raipur-Member Prof. (Dr.) Vijay K. Yadav, CSAUAT- Kanpur -Member Ranvijay Pratap Singh, National Secretary, AIASA, JNKVV, Member Dr. Ajay Verma, JNKVV, Jabalpur - Member Anshuman Jena, OUAT - Bhubaneshwar Dr PremPrakash, DrYSPUHF, Nauni-Solan, H.P. Dr. Pratik Chavelikar, AAU, Anand- Member Dr. WasifurRahman – AAU (Assam) -Member Neeraj Kumar, BAU (Sabour) - Member PiyushVagadia, NAU (Navsari) - Member Dr. K.P.Jeevanand, TNAU, Coimbatore-Member JyotiNishad, IARI-Member Sonica Priyadarshini, IARI, Member Tanay Joshi, Res. Scholar, IRRI-Member

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Programme Committee

Chairman : Dr Sahadeva Singh, Chief Policy Advisor- AIASA

Co-Chairman : Dr P. Adhiguru, Principal Scientist, (Agri. Ext.), ICAR

Members : Dr Mahesh Yadav, Principal Scientist, NBPGR Dr M. K. Verma, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi Kundan K. Singh, Lucknow Dr R.R. Burman, Senior Scientist, IARI, New Delhi Dr Satya Priya, Senior Scientist, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi Soham Choudhary, IARI-New Delhi-110012 Vivek Kumar Khare Amit Kumar Mathur

Protocol Committee

Chairman : Mr. Sudhir Kumar, MoA, Krishi Bhawan

Co-Chairman : Dr D. N. Singh, Former Additional Commissioner

Members : Dr Ashok Kumar, Krishi Bhawan Dr M.K. Verma, Pr. Scientist, FHT, ICAR-IARI Sanjeev Choudhary, MoRD

Reception Committee

Chairman : Ranvijay Pratap Singh, Secretary GC

Co-Chairman : Kundan Kumar Singh, Deputy Chairman ABM

Members : MohitYadav, State President UP Rahul Mishra, State coordinator UP Subham Sharma, Deputy Chairman, solan Sonica Priyadarshini, Secretary, AIASA Delhi

Registration/Felicitation Committee

Chairman : Ms. Sonica Priyadarshani, State Secretary, AIASA, Delhi

Co-Chairman : Sajad Un Nabi

Members : Alka Rani Lawanya Laxmi Priya Soham Kaushik Saha

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Accommodation and Transport Committee

Chairman : Prakash C. Pradhan

Co-Chairman : Vikash Rai

Members : Sharath Preeti Venu Babu Loknath Maitri Kundan Kumar Singh

Food and Refreshment Committee

Chairman : Abhay Kumar Gourav

Co-Chairman : Vivek Kumar Khare

Members : Om Pandey Amir Khan Himansu

Hall Arrangements Committee

Chairman : Prof. V.K. Yadav, CSAUT, Kanpur

Co-Chairman : Jyoti Nishad, President, AIASA Delhi

Members : Prem Prakash, Vice President North Zone Sneha Murmu Preeti Singh Usha Kumari Dilip Sumit Dey

Media Co-ordination Committee

Chairman : Preeti Priyadarshini

Co-Chairman : Pankaj Gayakwad

Invocation Committee

Chairman : Pankaj Gayakwad

Co-Chairman : Sharwan

Member : Veeranna

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Editorial and Publication Committee

Chairman : Dr. M. K. Verma, Pr. Scientist, FHT, ICAR-IARI

Co-Chairman : Dr Mahesh C. Yadav

Members : Sudhir Kumar Dr Sahadeva Singh Dr P. Adhiguru Kuleshwar Prasad Sahu Jyoti Nishad, Sumit Jha Oinam Washington Singh Loknath Maitry Preeti Singh Himanshu

Finance Committee

Chairman : Ms. Nangsol Dolma Bhutia, Treasurer AIASA

Co-Chairman : Rahul Mishra

Members : Neeraj Jha Akhilesh Jha

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Contents

Messages iiiForeward xiiPreface xiiiCommittees

Lead and other Full Length PapersThemesI. ICAR and DAC Initiatives for Youth in Agriculture 1II. Agripreneurship Development through Institutional & 29 Industrial LinkagesIII. Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture 39 (Indian Agriculture Service)IV. Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for 55 Agripreneurship Development

AbstractsThemesI. ICAR and DAC Initiatives for Youth in Agriculture 63II. Agripreneurship Development through Institutional & 71 Industrial LinkagesIII. Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture 93 (Indian Agriculture Service)IV. Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for 101 Agripreneurship Development

Activities of AIASA at different Universities 109Advertisement

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LEAD AND FULL LENGTH PAPERSTechnical Session-I

ICAR and DAC Initiatives for Youth n Agriculture

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S-I-P-1


A. K. Singh1, P. Adhiguru2 and R. R. Burman3

1 Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi-110012; 2 Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension), Indian Council of Agricultural Research,

KAB-I, Pusa, New Delhi-110012; 3 Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension), Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi-110012

E-mail: [email protected]

Youth plays vital role in meaningfully transforming Agriculture in India. According to national youth policy, youth in the age group of 15-35 are defined as young. The youth population is estimated to be 57 crores by 2016. At present, 35 % of the total population is in in the age group of 15-35 years, out of which 75 % live in rural areas. Large numbers of people, mostly young are moving away from rural areas to urban centres because there are fewer employment opportunities back home. The migration of rural youth to cities is around 45 per cent in the country, which has several implications for the future of Indian agriculture. Out of total migrants from rural to urban areas youth account for 30 per cent. While the average age of Indian population is only 29 years, the average age of farmers is 55 years which indicates lesser youth participation in agriculture. Furthermore shifting out of agriculture is high among farmers below 30 years of age. Given the growing disinterest of youth in this sector, there are risks to agriculture raising the question of ‘who will farm in the future?’

In order to create interest and confidence among rural youth in agriculture, there is a need to make agriculture more profitable. Retaining youth in agriculture and making agriculture more profitable are thus, big challenges. There is a continuous increase in the migration of rural youth to urban areas. ‘The difference in basic amenities, communication, health and education facilities between villages and urban areas also attracts the youth towards cities. On the other hand, small land holdings are on the rise which poses challenge to food security for increasing population. Thus, it was felt to bring a comprehensive model for the development of rural youth in general and agricultural youth in particular.

1. Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)Realizing the importance of rural youth in agricultural development especially from the point

of view of food security of the country, ICAR has initiated a program on “Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture”.

Under this scheme, special efforts will be taken to attract the rural youth under the age of 35 years in agriculture so that the increase in the migration of rural youth towards cities is controlled. The objectives of this programme are given below.(i) To attract and empower the Youth in Rural Areas to take up various Agriculture,allied and service

sector enterprises for sustainable income and gainful employment in selected districts,

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(ii) To enable the Farm Youth to establish net work groups to take up resource and capital intensive activities like processing, value addition and marketing, and

(iii) To demonstrate functional linkage with different institutions and stakeholders for convergence of opportunities available under various schemes/ program for sustainable development of youth.

Operational MechanismThe project shall be implemented in 25 districts (one district from each state) through the KVKs of

those districts with technical partners from Institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Agricultural Universities and others. One or two entrepreneurial development units shall be established at the KVK itself so that it/those serve(s) as entrepreneurial training unit(s) for the farm youth. The KVKs shall also facilitate youth for establishing various entrepreneurial units at the farm of the youths or group of youth.

Identification of YouthEach KVK shall involve about 200 youths having less than 35 years of age. The selection of the

youth shall be made on the basis of gender and social status. The implementing KVK shall evaluate the capability of each candidate (Youth) to select a particular suitable agricultural venture for him/ her. The District Committee constituted at KVK level for implementation of the ARYA project will also provide overall guidance in selection of the potential youth with entrepreneurial aptitude.

Besides developing entrepreneurship capabilities, the youth shall be trained on the essential skills as per the requirement of selected enterprises and entrepreneurial units shall be established at their location within the selected district depending upon market potential of the enterprise and availability of fund. The entrepreneurial activities may be in the area of Apiary, Mushroom, Seed Processing, Soil testing, Poultry, Dairy, Goatry, Carp-hatchery, Vermi-compost etc.

The purpose is to establish economic models for youth in the villages so that youths get attracted in agriculture and overall rural situation is improved. Skill development of rural youths will help in improving their confidence levels and encourage them to pursue farming as profession, generate additional employment opportunities to absorb under employed and unemployed rural youth in secondary agriculture and service related activities in rural areas. The trained youth groups will function as role model for other youths and will demonstrate the potentiality of the agri-based enterprises and also give training to other farmers.

The governance of the ARYA scheme shall be through various Committees constituted with the approval of the competent authority in the ICAR. There shall be an Apex Committee, a Steering Committee, Zonal Committees and District Committee for administration and effective implementation of the ARYA scheme.

2. Agri-Clinic and Agri-business CentreThe Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, in association with

NABARD has launched on 9th April, 2002 a unique programme to take better methods of farming to each and every farmer across the country. The programme aimed at creating gainful self-employment opportunities to unemployed agricultural graduates, agricultural diploma holders, intermediate in

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agriculture and biological science graduates with PG in agri-related courses. This programme aims to tap the expertise available in the large pool of Agriculture Graduates. Irrespective of whether you are a fresh graduate or not, or whether you are currently employed or not, you can set up your own Agri-Clinic or Agri-Business Centre and offer professional extension services to innumerable farmers.

Agri-Clinics are envisaged to provide expert advice and services to farmers on various technologies including soil health, cropping practices, plant protection, crop insurance, post-harvest technology and clinical services for animals, feed and fodder management, prices of various crops in the market etc. which would enhance productivity of crops/animals and ensure increased income to farmers. Agri-Business Centres are commercial units of agriventures established by trained agriculture professionals. Such ventures may include maintenance and custom hiring of farm equipment, sale of inputs and other services in agriculture and allied areas, including post-harvest management and market linkages for income generation and entrepreneurship development.

Committed to this programme, the Government is now also providing start-up training to graduates in Agriculture, or any subject allied to Agriculture like Horticulture, Sericulture, Veterinary Sciences, Forestry, Dairy, Poultry Farming, and Fisheries, etc. Those completing the training can apply for special start-up loans for venture.

Agribusiness Centres would provide paid services for enhancement of agriculture production and income of farmers. Centres would need to advice farmers on crop selection, best farm practices, post-harvest value-added options, key agricultural information (including perhaps even Internet-based weather forecast), price trends, market news, risk mitigation and crop insurance, credit and input access, as well as critical sanitary and phyto-sanitary considerations, which the farmers have to keep in mind. As an integral part of this nationwide initiative, specialised training will be provided to Agriculture Graduates interested in setting up such a centre. Being provided free of cost, the 2-month training course will be offered by select institutes across the country. Initiated by SFAC, and coordinated by MANAGE, the course comprises Entrepreneurship and Business Management, as well as skill improvement modules in your chosen areas of activity.

The scheme has been implemented in 23 states across the country and ventures have been established in 35 categories related to agriculture and allied sector. It was observed that various states have different success rates in implementing the scheme. States in the Northern and Southern region have very encouraging record, while states of North Eastern region have shown poor performance in terms of setting up of ventures.

3. Skill IndiaSkill development and entrepreneurship efforts across the country have been highly fragmented

so far. As opposed to developed countries, where the percentage of skilled workforce is between 60% and 90% of the total workforce, India records a low 5% of workforce (20-24 years) with formal vocational skills. There is a need for speedy reorganization of the ecosystem of skill development and entrepreneurship promotion in the country to suit the needs of the industry and enable decent quality of life to its population. Today, more than 20 Ministries/Departments run 70 plus schemes for skill development in the country. However, there are gaps in the capacity and quality of training infrastructure as well as outputs, insufficient focus on workforce aspirations, lack of certification and

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common standards and a pointed lack of focus on the unorganized sector. Recognizing the need and urgency of coordinating the efforts of all concerned stakeholders in the field of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Skill India was launched.

The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC) was setup as a Public Private Partnership Company with the primary mandate of catalysing the skills landscape in India. NSDC is a unique model created with a well thought through underlying philosophy to create (Proactively catalyse creation of large, quality vocational training institutions), fund (Reduce risk by providing patient capital, including grants and equity) and enable (creation and sustainability of support systems required for skill development).

PradhanMantriKaushalVikasYojana (PMKVY) is the flagship outcome-based skill training scheme of the new Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objective of this skill certification and reward scheme is to enable and mobilize a large number of Indian youth to take up outcome based skill training and become employable and earn their livelihood. Under the scheme, monetary reward would be provided to trainees who are successfully trained, assessed and certified in skill courses run by affiliated training providers.

Skill development in AgricultureAgriculture and allied activities accounts for about 15.7 % of country’s GDP and is estimated to

employ about 124.7 million people as cultivators and 106.8 million as agricultural labour (Census 2001). Besides this Agriculture Industry employs a large number of people in the Organized and the Unorganized sector, the data pertaining to the same is however not available. Based on the assumptions of Food Grain Production and Manpower required to handle the total produced, the same is derived at (0.20 Million) for Organized and (1.95 Million) for Unorganized sector.India has about 161 million hectares of arable land of which 55 million is irrigated. With the increase in population the demand for food and Agri produce is increasing, but the supply is constant due to low agricultural productivity. This is predominantly due to improper Farm Management practices and loss in post-harvest handling. There is a requirement for specific set of skills in the field of Agriculture.Considering the above factors, Agriculture Skill Council of India was set up in January 2013 as a Section 25 company under Companies act of Ministry of Company Affairsfor building capacity in the Agriculture Industry and bridge the gap between laboratories and farms.

4. Start-up India, Stand-up IndiaStart-up India, Stand-up India initiative of the Government of India will boost entrepreneurship

among the youth, create new job opportunities and help set up a network of start-ups in the country. The scheme will create an entire start-up ecosystem that would be a set-up and a friend, mentor and guide for start-ups through their entire journey of entrepreneurship. About 35 new incubators in institutions will be initiated with a maximum of Rs 10 crore financial support to be given by central government to new incubators. Atal Innovation Mission will be launched for entrepreneurship promotion, sector-specific incubators to be established and pre-incubation training to potential entrepreneurs is to be given and strengthening of the existing incubation facilitieswill be undertaken. In order to promote innovation, innovation awards (3 per state/UT and 3 national level) will be

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instituted. It is a wonderful opportunity for youth to take up new entrepreneurship activities in Agriculture. Under Start-up India, there are successful case in other sectors in which, youth have taken up new enterprises with the support from Government in the form entrepreneurial skills. Similar successful experiences can be replicated in Agricultural sector also.

5. Digital IndiaDigital India is an initiative to integrate the government departments and connect the people of

India directly with all the departments to address the issues in a better way. It aims at ensuring that the government services are made available to citizens electronically by reducing paperwork and a lot of time. This initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks.This will give the rural youth more opportunities to interact with people from different walks of life and evolve better as an individual.Digital India will empower youth to know the government and its various departments better and to analyze the loops and strength unguided by political issues.The user friendly interface will connect more people to technology and the platform will act as a thought-pool. The agro-based youth will also be able to gather more knowledge about the policies of the government and be benefitted by the same.

With the coming of start-up venture supports, the youngsters will get a chance to demonstrate their enterprising skills with the help of venture capital provided to them.Research and training based projects will help youngsters to learn better and the digital platform will connect a wider talent pool to discuss and exchange ideas and innovative solutions.The online mode of education will gain new dimensions and the rural youth which by far has no access or limited access to the various courses available, will be having a better learning experience.Last but not the least, E-commerce is better understood and utilized by the youth. In the past decade we have seen n number of business portals doing really well, enabling the goods being delivered at the doorsteps without much hassle and the same shall gain new horizons with more and more self-employed people and e commerce sites coming in the Indian market allowing a higher income to the deserving. The opportunities that Digital India initiatives provide may be effectively harnessing in ICT mediation in Agriculture and the skilled youth in digital technologies may play crucial role as change agents in partnership with wide range of stakeholders in Agricultural Sector.

ConclusionMost of the educated youth find agriculture as an unattractive preposition; especially the way

it is practiced traditionally by their parents. The society largely looks down upon farming, as also families of prospective brides do not prefer farming youth. Generally youth are willing to adopt new ideas and technologies and therefore agricultural extension services should target youth to transform agriculture. The youth could be the ideal catalyst to change the poor image of persons involved in agriculture, especially in the rural communities given their greater possibility to adapt new ideas, concept and technology which are all important to changing the way agriculture is practiced and perceived. Agricultural extension services can effectively address these issues by encouraging and supporting youth participation in agriculture. Improving their capacities and increasing their involvement will also help in changing the negative perception about farming.

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S-I-P-2

Strategies for Empowering Youth and Retaining Them in Agriculture

M. K. ArvadiaPrincipal and Dean, N. M. College of Agriculture,

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari -396450, Gujarat, India E-mail: [email protected]

Agriculture’s share in India’s economy is significant, albeit in decline. Although the sector accounted the share of gross domestic product (GDP) next to industry and services, it remains the leading industry for employing close to two thirds of the country’s working population. However, India is losing more than 2,000 farmers every single day and that since 1991, the overall number of farmers has dropped by 15 million till 2013. This has several implications for the future of Indian agriculture and India’s food security. The main problems faced by the farmers and agricultural sector in India arel Highly exposed to the vagaries of weatherl Insufficient productivityl Highly miniaturized and insufficiently mechanized local productionl Insufficient investment, particularly in infrastructurel The “boomerang effect” of the Green Revolutionl Famine and poverty remain significant handicaps

In this scenario, Young farmers can play an important role in ensuring food security if they are encouraged to involve in farming and the challenges they face are addressed. Because more than half of the country’s population is below the age of 30 years and according to the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) young people are more susceptible to be unemployed than adults. Due to their limited access to assets (in particular land), markets, finance and education and skills training, youth are often unemployed or work informally. Most of the educated youth find agriculture as an unattractive preposition; especially the way it is practiced traditionally by their parents. Besides, when specific youth policies do exist in developing countries, they often do not cater for poor rural youth but tend to be biased towards non-poor youth living in urban areas. Consequently, there is growing disenchantment among rural youth towards agriculture vocation and they find it much lucrative to migrate to cities to do even menial jobs. Over the past few years, rural youth have been shying away from agriculture and large-scale migration of rural youth from farming to urban areas has caused concern among the agricultural policy makers, since, such a trend, if not checked, is likely to affect agricultural activities in the future. Thus, checking migration, retaining youth in agricultural sector and finding ways of engaging youth in agriculture is currently a big challenge.

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The younger generation will be interested in taking the farming as a profession only if farming becomes both economically and intellectually attractive. The future of food security in our country will depend on both the strengthening of the ecological foundations essential for sustainable agriculture, as well as attracting the educated youth to farming and allied professions such as animal husbandry, inland and marine fisheries, agro-forestry, agro-processing and agri-business.

This can be done by creating at block levels, a farm school, and developing value chains. Appropriate policy support will help farmers to collaborate producer and market, and value addition to primary produce will fetch better income and export value.

The power of mass production, particularly in the post-harvest stage, can be conferred among the farmers with decentralized individual products by organizing them through various channels. Since most farm families operate in small holdings, there is a need for Farmers’ Organizations for attaining meaningful economy. Producer Companies, Commodity Centre Associations, Youth Federations are possible examples of this kind of organization.

Role of young farmers, as both drivers and agents of change in agriculture needs to be recognized and emphasized. Greater emphases are needed for young farmers’ access and control over natural resources, mainly seeds, land, water, forests etc. Investments and policies for Building Capacities of youth farming communities and their organizations to improve their interaction with local, state and district levels markets have to be put in place.

Agribusiness should form a part of curriculum in the agricultural colleges/universities, highlighting the application of relevant technology, success stories and the importance of youth federations and extension in agribusiness in the state. Transforming agriculture through Community College and Farmer’s Field School should be prioritized. Agriculture transformation will be achieved only through facilitating access of rural youth to agricultural activities. Waste lands have been assigned to youth farmers to establish a role model of agriculture field aiming to retain youth in agriculture, like pulses village and seed village and similarly community grain and seed bank. In order to recognize youth involved in the best practices of agriculture, accolades like Best Young Agriculturalist Award at each district-levels can be instituted to be distributed on National Youth Day.

The government and non-government organization should work with the following vision and option for implementation to empower and retain youth in the field of agriculture

Vision l Establish baseline data on youth policies and their current status in the rural areas. l Identifying gaps and opportunities for developing national youth and agriculture policies within

agricultural sector and make appropriate policy decisions. l Investigating the current participation level and coverage of rural and urban youth in agriculture

and their perceptions towards the sector. l Investigating and assessing how the key institutions as well as current tools, and mechanisms and

policies available have mainstreamed the youth agenda. l Profiling investment opportunities for youth engagement in the agricultural value chains.

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Options for Implementation l Training youth in agricultural production using contemporary systems and modern information

andl Communications technology. There is need for training and skill-building opportunities for young

people that can mould them for active participation in decision-making processes.l Link youth to planning and policy efforts. This can be accomplished by involving youth in

the examination of existing policies as well as determining and evaluating potential policy alternatives

l Provision of land and mining rights to youth and youth organizations to encourage socioeconomic development. Youth must be recognized as major stakeholders and need a platform where their voices will be heard on issues that directly concern them.

l Facilitation of Youth Communication, Advocacy and Networking. There is a need to guide youth in terms of how to communicate their challenges, ideas and experiences.

l Institutionalizing Youth Policy Engagement at Primary – Secondary - University Levels. There is need to learn from other programmes that have been successful in engaging young people in different sectors.

l Enhancing the attractiveness of rural areas to young people by improving socio-economic infrastructure.

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S-I-P-3

Engaging Youth in Agriculture-The Key to a Food Secure Future

Utkal Ranjan Sahoo, Piyush Vagadia, Dhruv Kapadiya, Hasmukh Zinzuvadiya and Avi Virani

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat – 396450, India E-mail: [email protected]

Now days, the recent topic for worldwide concern is about agriculture. No politics, no technologies, no medicines nothing would go on the right track unless and until we have a safe secured future of food and agriculture. This is the concern of many countries as to how to have a sustained and relevant agriculture as a result to get good quality and quantity food for sustaining in future. The population of India as well as world is increasing day by day at increasing rate and to feed that surplus we need surplus production with quality under consideration. As land is limited and population increasing, so we need to give more emphasis on agriculture technologies. Agriculture should not remain only limited to ministry and to farmers and middleman. It is now the high time to involve and attract the youth i.e. the young blood towards agriculture and prosper it.Engaging youth in agriculture has been a prominent topic recently and has risen up the development agenda, as there is growing concern worldwide that young people have become disenchanted with agriculture.With most young people – around 85% – living in developing countries, where agriculture is likely to provide the main source of income it is vital that young people are connected with farming.

Currently around the world we’re living in an era where rapid urbanization has led to a decline in rural populations and for the first time ever the majority of the world’s population lives in a city. The UN World Health Organization predicts that “by 2030, 6 out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to 7 out of 10 people” meaning that more young people than ever before are moving to cities and towns to find work, leaving few behind to work in rural areas.With this predicted concentration of the global population in urban areas it is easier to understand why the number of young farmers is in decline. So how do we reignite the love for farming when the trend is to live in cities and towns?

Offer Young Farmers a Voice: Despite the decline in interest for agriculture as a career there are still young farmers working all over the world. To encourage others to join the sector it is vital that they are offered a voice and that we take note of what they have to say.

Particularly this includes giving young farmers at policy level a chance to offer their opinion and experiences. In this way, they can show other young people that farming can be a rewarding career as well as highlighting the important role of agriculture on a global scale.

Innovation: New technologies are available that can help mitigate the effects of climate change and grow more food with fewer inputs. However, a lack of extension services has meant farmers have been unable to access these new innovations.A younger generation can help introduce new technologies

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whilst also learning from traditional methods, holding the potential to offer the perfect fusion of new and traditional solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.Many organizations, such as the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Research Programs, also often believed that innovation will help make agriculture more attractive to young people.The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) established the Policies, Markets and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) program to show young people that innovation can play a big role in agriculture.The increased use of mobile phones in farming can also help deter young people away from stereotypes of traditional farming and help change their perceptions on agriculture, helping them to view it as an exciting and innovative industry.

A Chance to Make a DifferenceFarming offers the young generation a chance to make a difference by growing enough food to

feed the world. Those who become farmers now have the opportunity to be the generation that end world hunger and alleviate malnutrition, as well as helping the sector adapt to climate change. There are many challenges ahead for the sector but if young people are offered education in agriculture, a voice at policy level, and in the media, and are engaged with innovations then the agriculture industry can attract youth again. As we look to find solutions to feeding a world of nine billion people by 2050, it is this new generation that working together can help to achieve global development.

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S-I-P-4

Strategies for Youth Empowerment in Agriculture: Some Issues

C.K. Panda1, S.R. Singh2 andNeeraj Kumar3

1Assist. Prof.-cum-Jr. Scientist,2Assoc. Prof.-cum-Chairman&3 Research Scholar, Department of Extension Education, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur - 813210, Bihar, India


Agriculture is the economic backbone of rural India and raw material source of agri-industries and allied industries. In contrast, farming sector is the burning example of disguise unemployment and it is the livelihood option of more than 60% rural people of India. It is also the last choice livelihood of rural educated and uneducated youth. However, agricultural growth reduces poverty directly, by raising farm income, and indirectly, through generating employment (World Bank Report, 2008).Empowering youth in agriculture necessitated multi-domains study and their synergism and antagonism. Multi-domains include political context and policies of the government; existing infrastructure facilities and willingness of government for creation of new infrastructure through its own and ancillaries departments and also through direct private investment or pragmatic public private partnership (PPP) model; Safeguarding the national rural market from Multinational Corporations (MNCs) competitiveness and preparing agrarian communities for competing with these MNCs in future; Bureaucratic bottleneck, red tapism, level of corruption, marketing facilities, e-governance and failure in application of ICT tools in all sphere of rural domains. Apart from these most of the institutional research are not convincing enough to boost, develop and sustain confidence of youth in empowerment in agriculture. Major pitfalls noted in training are to selection of deserving trainees, suitable trainers and training infrastructure. Major problems in youth empowerment programmes are inadequate financial support; failure in providing basic/infrastructures; encouragement for execution of sub-standard projects; politics, rivalries and jealousy; inability to accept change in traditional and cultural practices; and difficulty in accessing resources such as land, finance and market information. Review of scholarly research finding emphasizes two major points for youth empowerments in agriculture, viz: information sharing and market facilities.

In the present state of development in science and technology, the rate of information generation and its sharing has assumed a great proportion. Mobile is with 95 per cent rural youth, with a good number having more than one set. This has made it possible for them to seek and share all types of information including the farm technology at a click at wish. This empowerment of the rural youth has bridged the gap between ‘information-haves’ and ‘information-have-nots’. The speed of communication and sharing of information and utilization of the same would be accelerated magnanimously once the rural youth become easy with the use of social media (Facebook, Whatsap, and Twitters etc.) This is gradually becoming ‘Mantra’ of the success in the globalized market economy.

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Rural youth in association or group formation are in position to be yet more empowered. Dependence of rural youth to government in all issues in this regard is not desirable, though the governmental role is must to act as facilitators through the formation of youth friendly empowerment policy and creation of youth for global competitive edge. Community level village based industry or enterprise is classic example of getting edge in the global competitiveness. Some other suggestive measure in nutshell for youth empowerment in agriculture-l Investment more in technical and vocational education in agriculture and allied sectorsl Creating strong training infrastructure for youth in agriculturel Upto date the trainers of the training institutions of agriculture and allied sectors institutionsl Safeguarding the youth enterprises from the unhealthy market competitionsl Encourage group based youth empowerment programme in agriculturel Market reform for pro-youth empowerment in agriculturel Developing and incorporation of ICTs based tools for multi-domains information sharing for

youth in agriculturel Creating physical connectivity networks viz. roads, railways, dedicated corridors for easy transport

of agricultural producesl Strengthening cooperative basis marketing l Frame specific policy for exports of agricultural and allied produces for specific nationsKey Words: Youth Empowerment, Agriculture, Information sharing, Marketing facilities, Group formation

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S-I-P-5

Role of Youth in Rural Development through Agriculture

Princy Jain, Shrishti Mehra and Kanak SaxenaJawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, M.P.


Indian agriculture contributes only 21% of India’s GDP, its importance in the country’s economic, social, and political fabric goes well beyond this indicator. The rural areas are still home to some 72 per cent of the India’s 1.1 billion people, a large number of whom are poor. Most of the rural poor depend on rain-fed agriculture and fragile forests for their livelihoods. The sharp rise in food grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains and stave off the threat of famine. Agricultural intensification in the 1970s to 1980s saw an increased demand for rural labour that raised rural wages and, together with declining food prices, reduced rural poverty. Sustained, although much slower, agricultural growth in the 1990s reduced rural poverty to 26.3%.Since then, however, the slowdown in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. The Government of India places high priority on reducing poverty by raising agricultural productivity.

India is thel World’s largest producer of milk, jute and pulses l World’s second largest cattle population with 175 million animals l World’s second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton etc l World’s second largest fruit and vegetable producer l World’s second largest producer and also consumer of silk in the world l World’s third largest fishing industry

Realities of agriculture1. India’s yields for many agricultural commodities are 30% to 50% than the maximum global

average2. Slow agricultural growth. 3. Poorly maintained irrigation systems.4. Lack of scientific cultivation.5. Inertia of Indian agriculturists for adoption of modern technology4. Non environment sustainable practices.5. Lack of good extension services and marketing network. 6. Deficit produces with respect to population.7. Poor roads, market infrastructure, middle man’s exploitation, excessive regulation.

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DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREA CAN BRING1] STRUCTURE 2] TECHNOLOGY 3] HEALTH 4] EDUCATION 5] ECONOMY

Suggestionsl Youth NGOs. l Better employment chances for Youth and Agriculture production.l Concentration of youth.l Reduced migration.l Promoting positive activities.l Rural youth should help their parents in agricultural activities and take interest in getting more

agricultural knowledge.l Good transport facilities.

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S-I-P-6

Empowerment of Rural Youth in Agriculture Production

K. BalajiAgricultural Officer, Department of Agriculture, Coimbatore-641 003

Email: [email protected]

The rapid growth and diversification of development activities have resulted in much needed expansion of employment opportunities, but at the same time have triggered rural to urban migration. This trend has inadvertently resulted in shift of farm labour to nonfarm sectors. To sustain food security, it is imperative to encourage farmers to continue with agriculture, wherein the rural youth have a crucial role to play. Currently, there is a challenge of retaining youngsters in agriculture due to various socio-economic factors, including profitability in agricultural pursuits. India has the largest youth population in the world that is poised to increase further in the coming decade. Nearly 70% of India’s population is below the age of 35 years making India the youngest nation in the world and interestingly 70% of them live in rural areas. According to 2011 Census, the youth population in the country including adolescents is around 550 million. In 2020, the average Indian will be only 29-year-old, whereas in China, and the United States of America the average age is estimated to be 37 years. We may utilize this demographic dividend for taking Indian agriculture to new heights by channelizing the creative energies of the youth through development of skills, knowledge and attitudes.

South Asia is home to 26% of the world’s youth, with youth representing 20% of the region’s population. In this regard, South Asia is the youngest region in the world and each year between 2010 and 2015, an additional one million youth are expected to enter the labor market. There’s a growing gap between urban and rural areas as rapid industrialization in South Asia disproportionately benefits urban populations. Rural areas suffer from under-employment and low incomes and the rural do not have access to job opportunities created by new industries and continue to be relegated work in the informal sector.

The Student ‘Rural Entrepreneurship and Awareness Development Yojana’ (READY) programme envisaged in the XII Five-Year Plan aims at entrepreneurship development among the youth. It combines both RAWE and Experimental Learning courses to make student READY with the grass-root level experience and entrepreneurship skills. The vast network of agricultural universities and colleges can play a leading role in cultivating self-confidence and capabilities in the students required for taking up agriculture as a profession. Farm-graduates can begin with launching of agri-clinics and agri-business centers in villages as rural enterprises. The observance of ‘Agricultural Education Day’ by the ICAR Institutes during the last year is sure to increase the awareness In the XII Five-Year Plan, it has also been proposed to initiate a programme ‘Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture’ (ARYA). The initiative aims at analyzing the current policy environment and identifying supporting policies that can check the rate of migration of youth from rural areas. The ARYA will identify such mechanisms and models that would encourage the youth to avail the quantum of oppounities in

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allied sectors. It is expected that the youth educated in agriculture and allied enterprises will be able to earn a dignified livelihood from farming and other related pursuits. Educated youth in urban areas can also take up urban and peri-urban agriculture in which ample opportunities exist. Several parts of our country like Kerala and Punjab are already urban in character, with town and village forming a continuum. These initiatives in coordination with other programmes of both Central and State Governments would empower the youth with knowledge, skills and enthusiasm to pursue agriculture with new vigour. These concerted efforts would enable making Indian agriculture ‘green pastures’ for the Indian youth in the years to come

The project sets up Village Poverty Reduction Committees (VPRC) to allocate funds for skills development and training to help eligible community members upgrade traditional skills and/or acquire new critical skills in financial accounting, business development, computer literacy, etc to lead to gainful employment opportunities. In order to create awareness for this program, the VPRC organizes festivals in each village during which youth are informed of skill trainings and employment opportunities. A database of individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 is created, which stores information regarding their qualifications and skills withtheir training preferences. As of March 2010, 129,300 youth had been identified for the skills development.

Youth with previous training and adequate qualifications are mobilized to attend job fairs held in each district every month where local and international companies recruit candidates for employment. Unskilled youth are matched to training facilities based on their background and current skill-set.

To date, need-based training has been completed for 46,350 youths, of which at least 80 percent are from project families. As of April 2010, 40,100 trained youths were employed; roughly three quarters of which were wage-employed; the rest were self-employed. As a result, unemployment has fallen ten percent annually since the project began.

ReferenceThe United Nations commemorated the International Year of Youth from August 11, 2010 to August 11, 2011.

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S-I-P-7

Strategies for Empowering and Retaining Youth in Agriculture

DhruvKapadiya*, PiyushVagadia, Alka Singh and J.M. PatelNavsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat – 396 450


AbstractIn India, agriculture has been considered as backwater sector as compared to other commercial

sectors, although 60 per cent of Indian population is directly or indirectly dependent upon agriculture. Young minds fail to see agriculture sector as vibrant industry; finding it as laborious job with low salaried income and no future. Changing the attitudes of young minds through the transformation of the agriculture sector, the positive outlook can be imparted. Poor and inadequate education limits productivity and the acquisition of skills, while insufficient access to knowledge and information can hinder the development of entrepreneurial ventures. There is a distinct need to improve young rural women’s access to education and to incorporate agricultural skills into rural education. Agricultural policies should be shaped for rural youth in terms of direct access to markets and finance as well as green jobs and land. Financial services specifically designed for youth are rare and an enabling regulatory environment is required to facilitate youth’s access to financial services. Promoting financial products catered to youth, mentoring programmes and start-up funding opportunities can all help remedy this issue. Accessing markets for agricultural products can be particularly challenging for young people: they often lack the capacity to produce large quantities to benefit from economies of scale; they frequently lack the required knowledge of prices and market structures and have limited bargaining power. Sometimes young people’s voices are not heard during the policy process, and often it fails to account for the heterogeneity and multifaceted needs of youth. To remedy this, youth need the requisite skills and capacities for collective action to ensure that their voices are heard. Policymakers themselves must also actively engage youth in the policy making process. Youth-specific programme like National Youth Agribusiness Programme (NYAP), need to be initiated aiming at attracting youth and retaining of young blood in agriculture and allied fields.

IntroductionIndia is a blessed country with fertile soil and varied agro climatic regions, which is highly

suitable for good agriculture production and agri-business. The agriculture sector which comprise of lot of activities ranging from R&D, farming, processing, marketing, agro based industries, livestock management, dairy industry, fisheries, forestry conservation and many more. In India, as long as one can remember, agriculture has been considered as backwater sector as compared to other commercial sectors although, around 60 per cent of Indian population is dependent upon agriculture and engaged in various agriculture-based industries directly or indirectly.

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The population in the age group of 15-34 in India has increased from 353 million in 2001 to 430 million in 2011. More than half of India’s population is under the age of 25, with 65 per cent of the population under 35. Moreover, the rural population is about 70%, and the indications are that the migration of rural youth to cities is around 45% in the country, which is quite alarming. Indian youth do not perceive agriculture as a remunerative or prestigious profession as it is a tedious and laborious job with low salaried income and no better future, which leads to drift them to other industries. This trend not only contributes to the emerging phenomenon of unemployment in agriculture sector, but it is also expected to affect Indian agriculture. Capitalizing young people in agriculture sector is key factor in enhancing agricultural productivity and food security as well as boosting economy.

The youth can be attracted to agriculture if they see meaning, income opportunities as well as feel a sense of pride in farming. The youth needs training, as well as the presence of mentors, coaches and motivators. The youth needs to be provided with basic resources especially land, capital and equipment to make farming a less tedious work.

Challenges to empowering and retaining youth in agricultureMajor challenges faced by youth seeking involvement in the agricultural sector are as follows1. Education:In India, agricultural education has been disappeared from primary and secondary

schools or curricula are not relevant to agriculture. Moreover, agriculture is seen as a less worthwhile subject.

2. Access to knowledge and agricultural information:Youth’s access to knowledge and information is crucial for addressing the main challenges they face in agriculture. Indian youth is lacking in knowledge and access to agricultural information, markets and marketing of agro produces and finance as well as land for cultivation.

3. Limited access to land:Land is fundamental requirement to start the farming and agro industries. Youngsters have greater challenge to obtain the necessary capital or invest the higher capital to buy land. In addition, loans to buy land are not easily accessible for youth. Large-scale land deals are particularly unfair towards young people, given that they are often not even consulted on agreements which may bar their and the next generations’ access to land. Furthermore, youth often lack in knowledge on the existing land tenure systems in their area, which is not surprising as these systems can be a highly complex set of overlapping rules, laws, customs and traditions. Youth are not always aware of acquisition, registration and taxation measures, and so are disproportionately affected by corruption and the fraudulent activities of land dealers (UN-HABITAT, 2011).

4. Financial investment: Even if young brigade accessed the land, they have limited financial capability to start farming activities and agri-enterprise. In addition, they require high capital investments in inputs of farm management resources.

5. Limited knowledge & information of markets and marketing strategies :Young people face a number of challenges while trying to access markets. Young farmers and entrepreneurs have limited knowledge and experience of how markets work; they often lack business, management and entrepreneurial skills, and like many other smallholder farmers, lack information about prices. Young farmers are new in the market and have only limited networks and contacts with buyers, which restrict their access to market information.

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6. Lack of national youth policies: India is still lacking coherent youth policies with various government agencies responsible for covering different youth issues in agriculture sector.

7. Limited role of youth in policy making:In Indian agriculture, inclusion of youth in agricultural policy-making is still in an exploratory stage and the full impact is yet to be felt. Policies often fail to reflect the heterogeneity of youth and tend to target non-poor men living in urban areas (Bennell, 2007). Seniority is frequently associated with authority, and youth are not expected or allowed to speak out or voice their concerns, let alone have a role in policy development processes (Lintelo, 2011).

Other factors affecting youth involvement in agriculture :1. Low regards and low profit from farming2. Small landholdings or landlessness3. Effects of climate change4. Farming is laborious work & risky profession5. Trend of going to cities to look for jobs6. Limited agricultural land7. Lack of capital8. Urbanization9. Small number of livestock10. Information and knowledge lacking of new sectors of agriculture

Factors that hinder tackling youth issues.According to UN ESCAP (2012), several factors hinder tackling youth issues in India:1. Lack of reliable data concerning youth2. Insufficient political will and earmarked resources3. Lack of coordination among government ministries and involvement with NGOs, the private

sector and academia

Youth investment in Agriculture: A Roadmap1. Education, Knowledge and Information

Poor and inadequate education limits productivity and the acquisition of skills, while insufficient access to knowledge and information can hinder the development of agri-entrepreneurial ventures.

Agriculture education needs to be made more relevant by including agriculture education in primary and secondary school curricula or modernizing the existing agricultural curricula (Rebranding agriculture in schools). Additionally, practical activities associated with the integration of agriculture in the school curriculum through school gardens successfully informed youth about the different ways of engaging in the agricultural sector, a potentially lucrative career choice.

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New training approaches for youth have been established viz.Agriculture Training Institutes (ATI), focusing not only on agriculture in the strictest sense, but on “sustainable socio-economic entrepreneurship”, including the development of human skills (e.g. cultural, social, technical, organizational and economic) and the linking of agriculture to industry and services. Youth repeatedly reported lack of training in areas such as leadership and business management as well as the need for apprenticeship opportunities. The emergence of new technology in agricultural practices in the government transformation program has made the sector more attractive to the younger generations by skill development programmes and training programmes.

The challenges related to access to information and education are complex. Ministry of education & Ministry of agriculture should work with other investors including other ministries, the private sector, NGOs and producers’ organizations to identify context-specific solutions.

2. Easy access to LandRehabilitation of unfertile and unproductive land and subsequent distribution of land to young

people and farmers should be done either by lease or contractual basis.

3. Financial SupportYouth depends on donors or funding agency for financial support to join in agriculture for

farming or to start up new initiatives of projects. Therefore, it is necessary to involve governments and other national organizations in the funding process in order to ensure long-term investment. Governments, national financial institutions and other national organizations, as well as the private sector, have a vital role to play in the sustainability of youth-inclusive financial services, building on initiatives.

Financial support is being provided to youth to set up in farming by three types: (1) an installation grant; (2) special loans at reduced interest rates; and (3) tax and other types of benefits. Loan projects for youth to start up new agro-enterprise or agro industries.

Competitions are another potential source of funds, particularly those targeting rural youth, where a good business plan is evaluated and rewarded. These competitions provide the winners with increased visibility, giving a crucial boost to their business.

4. Easy market access :Before commencement of production market based component like market survey, storage

facility, value addition, packaging and processing etcshould be access easily by youth. Further, more chances are given to youth to access available resources instead of older one. Programmes, initiatives and schemes should be directed specifically towards young people, such as start-up funding opportunities can help them to overcome these challenges.

5. Policy advocacy especially focused on youthUnderstanding of youth’s challenges in the agricultural sector – and the reflection of these

challenges in policies – data should be aggregated concerning age, sex and geographical location, and the aspirations, needs and concerns of young people as a heterogeneous group should be

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taken into account in order to come up with policies that make agriculture more attractive to them. These include developing and advocating for policy proposals and programs to attract youth back to agriculture e.g. Common Agriculture Policy, National Youth Agribusiness Trading programme, Agriculture Cooperatives, Financial support to young farmers, New Farmers Program, Setting up young farmers or young farmers start up programs, next generation or succession planning program, etc. It is imperative that policies should be made youth appealing and youth attracting in agriculture sector and made more responsive towards Agro based industries. Coordination is needed between different ministries (ministry of youth, agriculture, finance, education etc.) at central and state levels to ensure that policies reflect youth and their engagement in agriculture.

It is crucial for rural youth to organize themselves or join an existing organization, providing a sustainable channel to get their voices heard and to actively engage in policy dialogue. Young people should be given chance to share their aspirations and express their opinions on the required changes in shaping agricultural policy. The Internet and social media plays a vital role in connecting youth from various parts of India to encourage them to participate and discuss policies and strategies in policy dialogue.

National Youth Agribusiness promoting (NYAP) like program should be initiated by the government to promote entrepreneurship and agribusiness among under-35s through creation of new markets for their produces and value added agro products. NYAP may play an important role in connecting young farmers with young entrepreneurs, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow together. NYAP may also help to young entrepreneurs to foster sustainability and encourages socially responsible investments, taking account of environmental concerns at global and local level. Many of the youth businesses supported by the project are related to agro products or agro processed products. NYAP may also help to provide modern market information services and ICTs facilitates for marketing and trading. Set up of NYAP Clubs to educate and train the next generation to create their own business and marketing opportunities. NYAP Programme definitely opens up new market channels and attracts young entrepreneurs to agribusiness.

A consortia approach to connecting youth groups from farm level to marketing. The groups should specialize exclusively in different aspects like input supply, farming systems, consultancy base, market survey and marketing as well as value addition. Awareness creating and skill development programme for novel concepts like eco-tourism, nursery business, turf management, organic farming, contract farming, soil-less culture, aquaculture, integrated farming systems etc. Further, strategies and policies should also be developed for youth having agriculture based education though they are not from farming community by empowering them in form of project support for agri-business.

SummaryLooking to the present scenario of Indian agriculture, wherein, regardless of existing agro

favourable climatic and soil conditions in the country, youth fails to find it as a lucrative sector as compared to other industrial sector owing to various challenges. Agri-based sector for youth encounter numerous challenges viz. education, access to knowledge and agricultural information, limited access to land, financial investment, market status and strategies and national youth policies

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etc. when starting agricultural activities. Strategically approaches comprising by improving access to education, training and market information can all facilitate youth’s access to markets, with niche markets offering particularly significant opportunities for young farmers, integrated response for policymaking and development is needed for making agriculture sector as youth oriented.

ReferencesBennell, P. 2007. Promoting livelihood opportunities for rural youth. IFAD (available at http://www.ifad.org/events/

gc/30/roundtable/youth/benell.pdf).

FAO 2014. Youth and Agriculture: key challenges and concrete solution. Published by the FAO in collaboration with the CTA and IFAD.

FAO/UNESCO 2003. Education for rural development: towards new policy responses. D. Atchoarena& L. Gasperini. Rome.

Lintelo, D. te. 2011. Youth and policy processes. Working paper, Future Agricultures.

UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2011.Towards a youth agenda for the global land tool network: a scoping study. UN-HABITAT, Kenya.

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S-I-P-8

Attracting Youth for Agripreneurship: Policy Perspectives

P. Adhiguru1 and Letha Devi G.2

1 Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Extension Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi AnusandhanBhawan-I, New Delhi-110012; 2 Scientist

(AgriculturalExtension), KM&B Section, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Adugodi, Bangalore-560030


Unemployment or underemployment in the villages leads to influx of rural population to the cities. What is needed is to create a situation so that the migration from rural areas to urban areas comes down. Migration should be the minimum as far as employment is concerned. Rather the situation should be such that people should find it worthwhile to shift themselves from towns and cities to rural areas because of realization of better opportunities there.

Young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and more than 75 million youth worldwide are looking for work, according to the UN International Labour Organization (ILO). Due to their limited access to assets, markets, finance and education and skills training, youth are often unemployed or work informally – often in unpaid, very low-skilled, insecure and sometimes hazardous jobs (IFAD, 2012). Most of the educated youth find agriculture as an unattractive preposition; especially the way it is practiced traditionally by their parents. The society largely looks down upon farming, as also families of prospective brides do not prefer farming youth.

We should be capable of making use of the government policies and schemes for the betterment of rural youth. Some local leaders and NGOs are committed to the cause of the rural people have been catalytic agents for development. Though their efforts need to be recognized yet much more needs to be done to reverse the migration of rural youth, and to attract and retain youth in the rural areas. It means not only stopping the outflow of rural people but also attracting them back from the towns and cities where they had migrated. This is possible when young people consider rural areas as places of opportunities. Despite all the inadequacies in rural areas one should assess their strengths and build on them to make rural areas places of opportunities. This is much to do with the way one sees the reality of the rural areas. We should be able to develop entrepreneurship in agriculture so that youth would like to do something worthwhile and are ready to go through a difficult path to achieve their goals. It isn’t that there is a dearth of people with such a mind-set. But with time they change their minds and join the bandwagon of job seekers due to various reasons. Enabling them to think positively, creatively and Entrepreneurship purposefully is most of the development of rural areas. Young people with such perspective and with the help of rightly channelized efforts would usher in an era of rural entrepreneurship.

The basic principles of entrepreneurial development in rural areas are: l Optimum utilization of local resources in an entrepreneurial venture by rural youth and better

distribution of farm produce.

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l Entrepreneurial occupation: to reduce discrimination and provide alternative occupations as against the rural migration.

l To develop a system: to provide basic manpower, money, material, machinery, management and market to the rural youth.The changing global environment raises questions about the ability of traditional, small-scale

businesses in rural areas to share the potential benefits offered by the changing environment. The rapid population growth, coupled with even faster urbanization, creates increasing demands. In India, urban populations in general grow about twice as fast as the overall total, and by 2020 they may exceed the size of rural populations. Such a major demographic trend challenges the capacities of some traditional small-scale businesses to cope with the increasing demands.

Challenges faced by Rural Entrepreneurship in India l Family Challenges: Convincing to opt for business over job is easy is not an easy task for an

individual. l Social Challenges: The peer and social pressure on the individuall Technological Challenges: The education system lacks to instil in youth knowledge about how to

deal with technology in a situation and how to use that technology effectively.l Financial Challenges: Financial challenges are a lot different in India especially for young

entrepreneurs. When you are starting out as an entrepreneur you don’t opt for venture funding but try to go to funding for small to medium business people.

l Policy Challenges: Now and then there is lots of changes in the policies to change in the government. Problems of TRIPS and TRIMS, raising equity capital, availing raw-materials, obsolescence of indigenous technology, increased pollutions etc.

l Power Failure, Low Capacity Utilization and Infrastructural inadequaciesAttracting and retaining youth in agriculture is critical for Indian Agriculture. Most of the new

innovations like promotion of high value agriculture, precision farming, organic cultivation, Hi-Tech horticulture, micro-propagation, Integrated Pest Disease & Nutrients Management, Post-Harvest Management require well trained young farmers with enthusiasm and passion for farming and ability to take risks. The rural youth could be the ideal target for skill training in these new areas of agricultural growth.

In today’s knowledge based economy is fertile ground for entrepreneurs, in India. It is rightly believed that India has an extraordinary talent pool with virtually limitless potential to become entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is important to get committed to creating the right environment to develop successful entrepreneurs.

To achieve this, we must focus on:1. Government Support: Both the Central and State Governments should bring in appropriate land

use policies, technologies and market linkages2. Enlarge the scope for the growth of agro-processing, agroindustries and agribusiness and establish

a “Farm to Home” chain in production, processing and marketing.

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3. Promote opportunities for the services sector to expand in a manner that will trigger the technological and economic upgradation of farm operations

4. Create the Right Environment for Success l Capacity Building of youthl Engage youth actively in planning and implementationl Facilitation - Youth Communication, Advocacy and Networking.

5. Ensure that Entrepreneurs have access to the Right Skill 6. Instil entrepreneurial activities in the curriculum at school and graduate education.7. Ensure that entrepreneurs have access to adequate and timely capital 8. Use of media and social media.

Opportunities for rural youth entrepreneurs are several. If educated youth choose to live in villages and launch the new agriculture movement, based on the integrated application of science and social wisdom, our untapped demographic dividend will become our greatest strength. For young people to take to agriculture, farming must be both intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding. And it is for the government to provide an enabling environment so that new innovations start pouring out in agriculture and lead to another revolution for sustainability.

ReferencesAhirrao Jitendra. (2013), Entrepreneurship and Rural Women in India, New Century, New Delhi.

Brijesh Patel and Kirit Chavda (2013). Rural Entrepreneurship in India: Challenge and Problems. International Journal of Advance Research in Computer Science and Management Studies.2013.1(2): 28-37.

IFAD. (2012). Youth in agriculture: Special session of the Farmers’ Forum Global Meeting, 18 February 2012, IFAD, Rome.

Saxena Sandeep. (2012). Problems Faced By Rural Entrepreneurs and Remedies to Solve It, Journal of Business and Management. 2012. 3(1): 36-44.

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27


LEAD AND FULL LENGTH PAPERSTechnical Session-II

Agripreneurship Development through Institutional & Industrial Linkages

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S-II-P-1

Sustainable Agriculture to Make Agriculture an Attractive Profession for Youths and Farmers

Jagpal SinghSecretary, Foundation for Agricultural Resources and Environmental Remediation (FARMER), Ghaziabad, U.P. and Secretary General, All India Federation of Agriculture Associations (AIFAA), New Delhi-110012


India is predominantly an agrarian country where 60-70 per cent of its population is dependent on agriculture for employment, source of their livelihood. However, over last two decades, agriculture has become as an unprofitable venture which can be attributed to; i) Non availability of appropriate agriculture policy in the country, ii) Depleting soil health due to indiscriminate and imbalance use of chemical fertilizers, iii) Non availability of timely and quality agricultural inputs at affordable cost, iv) Non-existence of Price Regulatory Mechanism and non-enforcement of quality regulations strictly for quality control agricultural inputs, v) Discontinuance of on farm production of agriculture inputs, farmer’s dependence on market for agriculture inputs, vi) Lack of reliable quality control testing laboratories, vii) Non availability of adequate finance for agriculture at easy terms and lower rate of interest, nonexistence of fool proof crop insurance policy and relief package policy on natural calamities, viii) Lack of application of new technologies due to collapse of extension system in the country and availability of new technologies to face new challenges (biotic and abiotic stress on crops) in agriculture due to global warming and climate change ix) Non availability of remunerative price of agricultural produce, x) Agriculture in the country is driven by non-agriculturist bureaucrats due to which benefits of on-going developmental programmes of government are not reaching to farmers. Due to bureaucratic interference, lack of agricultural knowledge to policy makers and leakages in the system, xi) Lack of political will at state and central governments’ level to frame farmers’ friendly policies for development of agriculture as a profitable business venture.

Industrial policy was first framed, accepted and implemented by government in India in way back in 1956 and regularly being reviewed from time to time to make it more and more industrial friendly, whereas no agriculture policy exists in India till today. Even the recommendations of various committees including Farmers’ Commission have not yet been implemented. Today, youths including rural youths, have become more conscious and aware about recent economic developments in India and wants to lead a comfortable life at par with youths engaged in other sectors and city life. There is great difference in civic facilities that are available in cities in comparison with villages. The good job opportunities are mostly available in cities only and least available in villages. If compared from the angles of academic and preferred professions; the medical, engineering, finance and accountancy, management, law and other professions are more lucrative than agriculture profession. Similarly, industry, trade, services, finance, import, export, marketing including manufacture and formulation of agriculture inputs, processing and marketing of agriculture produce are considered more lucrative than agriculture occupation.

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It has been observed in the past that the drastic improvement in term of income in all the sectors like industrial, trade, services, import, export etc. have taken place with positive and proactive policies of government and with providing incentives for these sectors in the form of tax rebates / holidays, grants and subsidies, easy financing facilities on low rate of interest by the government, from time to time to boost any particular sector. Similar approach has to be followed in case of agriculture so that new entrepreneurs can enter to the businesses related to agriculture and allied sector.

Technology is the key for transforming industry, manufacture and farming sector in many developed countries in world. The access, availability and affordability of new technologies depend on predictability of regulations, demonstration on large scale on farmers’ fields in rural areas, education and awareness. Some important technologies are available today such as GM crops beneficial to farming and safe to consumers as food along with environmental safety; advanced and quality inputs for organic cultivation; modern farm implements and chemicals; farm level meteorological and soil analysis instruments etc.

To cite an example, the Small Scale Organic Agriculture Inputs Production Units with Bio – agents Multiplication, Small Scale Agriculture Produce Processing & Packaging Industries may also be created at village / cluster level. These facilities may be created by Central and State Governments by making adequate budget provision in a phase manner covering all 6, 31,000 villages in five years (1, 26,200 villages each year). This can be implemented by governments or in PPP mode by encouraging private entrepreneurs and providing certain incentives in the form of matching grant or subsidy. Government may make a budget provision of about Rs. 10 Crores per village, having average population of 2,000, in each village to create these facilities. Requirement of budget will come to Rs 12, 56,200 Crores per annum, which is very nominal per capita budget, if compared with additional per capita budget required for governments’ employees to implement 7th pay commission’s recommendations for 1,00,000 employees and their total family population of 5,00,000 only, taking ideal family size of 5 members.

To supplement technology adoption, the Agriculture and Allied sector should be incorporated as one of the priority sector in Make in India and Skill Development Programme of Government of India. The Government has also to make more radical changes in planning to boost agriculture. Basic infrastructural facilities like; Roads, Hospitals, Schools / Colleges, Sports Stadium, Storages for Agricultural Commodities has to be created at village / cluster level. Smooth Electricity & Water Supply, Individual and Common Toilets with proper Drainage &Sanitation Facilities needs to be created at village level.

Sustainable development of agriculture is possible only by making agriculture as a profitable business venture to attract youths in agriculture profession for choosing their carrier advancement and for self-employment. Agriculture production, processing and marketing of agriculture produce may be interlinked so that youths are engaged in Agri. Business and profit can reach at all levels including farmers. This can be achieved by making more and more Farmers Producing Organizations (FPOs) at Village Clusters, Block, Taluka, District and State level. Each FPO consisting of 100-1000 or more farmers may draw its own suitable cropping plan to be followed by member farmers, as per agro climatic zones and market demands and establish forward marketing linkage directly with the consumers. Production of organic agricultural inputs including bio-agents multiplication at

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farm, village, cluster level and organic cultivation by FPOs may be promoted. Promotion of relevant mechanization in agriculture and creation of common agriculture machinery facilities, custom services in agriculture operations, secondary agriculture, rural or agriculture tourism, animal centric agriculture and dairying will play a vital role in youths’ involvement in agriculture. Infusion of modern technology and providing institutional finance on easy terms will develop agriculture as an economically viable profession for youths. All Indian villages may be declared as backward and extremely backward areas and rural population as backward and extremely backward population so that incentives, provided by government are availed by rural and agriculture youths.

To implement these programmes, there is urgent need to take certain steps on priority; creation of organized cadre of Indian Agriculture Services with pay parity, strengthening of extension system by filling up of vacant posts and opening of more Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) and Agri. Clinics with adequate budget provision, registration and licensing of Agriculture Professionals and their involvement in distribution and supply of Agriculture Inputs, promotion

Implementing the above model of rural and agriculture development will create employment opportunities for youths with their more involvement in agriculture at one end and discourage movement of rural population to cities on the other end.

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S-II-P-2

Green Entrepreneurship through Organic Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

Ranjan Kr. RakeshHead, R&D and Rural Development, SAMPDA (SamagraAdivasi& Medicinal Plants Development

Association), Chikalputti (Danteshwari Nagar), Danteshwari Herbal Farm, Kondagaon, 494226, Bastar, C.G, Ph No - 07786-242506, Chhattisgarh

E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.sampda.org

Dr. Rajaram Tripathi is Youth Icon in the field of Herbal Farming and research. He is the President of “CHAMF India” Regd. by the Ministry of Agriculture Government of India, founder of SAMPDA Organization, CEO Founder of Maa Danteshwari Herbal Group, Secretary of Aromatic Plants Grower’s Association of India (APGA) formed by NHB/GOI and President of Vegetable Grower Assoc. of India (C.G.) formed by NHB/Ministry of Agriculture (GOI). He was born in small village Kaknar, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Chhattisgarh on January 12, 1962. He acquired B.Sc., L.L.B, MA (Economics), MA (Hindi), MA (History), Ayurveda Ratna Allahabad U.P. & Ayurved “Bhishgacharya” from World Academy of Ayurveda (WAA). By profession he is an organic herbal farmer and an herbal scientist in district of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, having 20 years of experience in organic farming of Herbal Medicinal & Aromatic plants cultivation. He is widely recognized to be in the forefront of progressive farmers in the country today. He has specialized in large scale cultivation of medicinal plants following purely organic practices. He has overseen the extension of his families’ agricultural holding to over 1000 acres in Bastar and Raipur District of C.G. India. This it is rare in an age when very few farmers outside the “Green Revolution” areas look positively towards expanding crop operations. Moreover, thousands of other traditional farmers have successfully adopted the organic high value agriculture practice by Dr. Tripathi, to achieve higher financial return on their own farming on a sustainable basis. A man born in a small village of Chhattisgarh and started his carrier with working in Public Sector Bank, but later on he released something and left the comfort job and fully involved in Organic Medicinal Herbal Farming. He actively involved in Traditional Health Practice (THP), Traditional Health Therapy (THT) & Ethino-medico Practice (EMP) and there documentation on (Bision Horn Maria &Muria and Gond) for Tribes. He is conserving and propagating of endangered species through Tissue Culture, which are mentioned in Red Data Book, species like Guggul (Commiforawightii), Sarpgandha (Rauwolfiaserpentina), SafedMusli (Chlorophytumborivillanum), Vacha (Acoruscalamus), Ashokaindica.

Today Dr. tripathi is a consultant and seeds provider to over 210 herbal farms covering over thousand acres on nineteen states of the country. He also runs a network for information training and cultivation, marketing and distribution of organically grown medicinal and aromatic plants that has more than twenty one thousand farmer members from all over the country. Under the establishment of CHAMF India & SAMPDA, he initiated the most richly endowed Herbal Species Gardens in the Country, where Seventy Rare & Endangered Species are regularly monitored and developed by

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the experts. He involves in promotion of Organic Cultivation of Indian Medicinal and Aromatic Crops and Establishment of Ethno Medico Forest and Development & Generation of Employment Opportunities for Rural Youths through Herbal Farming & Marketing. Always strive for Prosperity of the Farmers and Peace on the Planet by continuously providing the total solution for Hi-Profit Sustainable Organic Farming to conserve the Bio-Diversity of the Planet. His mission is to make the agriculture sector a profitable business and Economic Welfare for the Farmers, as to make India a Powerful Country based on Agro Industry which is the backbone of Indian Socioeconomic. He has added a new chapter in Agri business with cultivation of herbal, medicinal & aromatic crops on a large scale and proved that “Money can literally grow on trees”. The efforts of Dr. Tripathi a former Banker has led to pioneering success and has motivated over 20000 farmers across 19 states in India to adopt sustainable organic farming practices. He started this revolution from remote Kondagaon in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region is noteworthy. It is commendable that Dr Tripathi has been able to achieve this scale by retaining an encouraging sustainable agriculture practices through his enterprises. He has popularized herb farming and experts from all over the globe regularly visit Dr. Tripathi to learn from his in depth knowledge of the subject. He has put Kondagaon on the international map and has engaged tribal families in Organic Herbal Farming with a strong marketing strategy for India’s for certified organic herbal group Maa Danteshwari Herbal Products Limited (MDHP) founded by Dr Tripathi himself. Dr Tripathi individual efforts have helped cultivators tap the vast market of herbs & medicinal plants. His life mission is to create institutional capacities to make the Indian agriculture a viable profitable and sustainable business sector though strategies and means that can add to the wealth and overall economy of the country. Towards this goal he carries the goodwill of thousands of forward looking farmers from all over the country.

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S-II-P-3

Strategies for Employment and Entrepreneurship Generation for Agriculture

Bharat M Chaudhari, DhruvKapadiya, HasmukhZinzuvadiya, AviVirani and KuldipVithhlapara

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat – 396 450 E-mail: [email protected]

The unprecedented commitment of the present Government of India to seriously address the need for employment generation is a propitious opportunity to implement strategies for generating full employment in the country. This report, which builds upon work done by the International Commission on Peace & Food in the early 1990s, confirms the potential to generate sufficient employment opportunities for all new entrants to the workforce as well as to absorb the current numbers of unemployed and underemployed. It includes strategies and policy recommendations designed to maximize the effectiveness of the Government’s recently proposed initiatives for employment generation and rural prosperity. Implementation of these recommendations will be sufficient to generate 100 million additional employment and self-employment opportunities. While many formal studies have been prepared to assess the growth and employment potential in India’ formal private sector, less attention has been given to the conditions and strategies to promote rapid expansion and job creation in the rural and informal sectors. This report focuses on strategies to increase employment opportunities in India’s informal sector, with emphasis on agriculture, agro-industry, rural services and related vocations. The report consists of three parts: an overview of employment in India, a business plan containing specific recommendations for implement-ation, and a detailed discussion of employment opportunities and strategies in agriculture. The major findings and recommendations can be summarized as follows:1. The Indian economy is already generating approximately seven million employment and self-

employment opportunities per annum; almost all of them in the informal sector, but in there are a serious lack of accurate information on the types and numbers of these jobs. The most effective strategy for employment generation will be to provide the missing links and policy measures needed to accelerate this natural process of employment generation.

2. There is enormous scope for raising the productivity of Indian agriculture, doubling crop yields and farm incomes, and generating significant growth in demand for farm labour. The report present evidence to demonstrate that improving plant nutrition through micronutrient analysis and improving irrigation through deep chiseling of soil can result in a tripling of crop yields. 3. Rising rural incomes consequent to higher productivity will unleash a multiplier effect, increasing demand for farm and non-farm products and services, thereby stimulating rapid growth of employment opportunities in other sectors.

3. Indian agriculture is constrained by weak linkages between agricultural training and extension, crop production, credit, processing, marketing, and insurance. The report presents an integrated

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strategy for bringing together all these elements in a synergistic manner by Establishment of village-based Farm Schools to demonstrate and impart advanced technology to farmers on their own lands. Establishment of a network of sophisticated soil test laboratories capable of high volume precision analysis of 13 essential plant nutrients coupled with development of expert computer systems to interpret soil test results and recommend individualized packages of cultivation practices for each crop, location and soil profile. Establishment of Rural Information Centers to act as a medium for transmission of soil test data and recommended practices, access to current input and market prices, and other essential information for upgrading agriculture. Policy and legal measures to encourage contract-farming arrangements between agri-business firms and self-help groups in order to increase small farmers’ access to advanced technology, quality inputs, bank credit, processing, marketing and crop insurance. E. Measures to strengthen farm credit and insurance programmes, including creation of linkages between crop insurance, crop loans, and farm school training to encourage farmers who seek credit and crop insurance to adopt improved cultivation practices.

4. In order to ensure ready markets for the crops that are produced, the report focuses on the potential for linking crop production with huge untapped markets and specific agro-industries, including energy plantations to fuel biomass power plants, bio-diesel from jatropa, ethanol from sugarcane and sugar-beet, edible oil from Paradise Tree, horticulture crops and cotton.

5. The report argues that the India labour force suffers from a severe shortage of employable skills at all levels and that intensive development of vocational skills will act as a powerful stimulus for employment and self-employment generation. In addition to Farm Schools to impart advanced skills in production agriculture, the report recommends establishing a network of government-certified, rural vocational institutes providing training and certification in hundreds of vocational skills not covered by the ITIs. In order to offset the shortage of qualified trainers and the costs of replicating institutions throughout the country, the report advocates creation of a national network of ‘Job Shops’ linked to the Rural Information Centre’s and offering televised multimedia training programmes and computerized vocational training programmes.

6. The report recommends that the National Commission on Farmers arrange for employment surveys to provide accurate information on the growing demand for different occupational categories, the natural rate of employment generation by category and skill level, and other issues required to promote full employment in the country.

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37


LEAD AND FULL LENGTH PAPERSTechnical Session-III

Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture (Indian Agriculture Service)

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S-III-P-1

Indian Agricultural Service: Need of the Hour

Biswajit Mondal1,Sandeep Kumar2, Sudhir Kumar3 and Amol Bhalerao4

1Scientist, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur;Scientist,OUAT,3National President, All India Agricultural Students Association, New Delhi, India; Scientist, ATARI, Shillong


India’s 2011 census showed that the country’s population had grown by 181 million people in the last decade. Population projections for India anticipate that the country’s population will reach 1.5 to 1.8 billion by 2050. As per the Population Reference Bureau, India’s population at the close of the twenty-first century is expected to reach 1.853 to 2.181 billion. Thus, India is expected to become the first and only country on the planet that will ever reach a population of more than two billion (we must remember that China’s population is likely to drop after reaching a peak of about 1.46 billion in 2030) (Source:http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/indiapopulation.htm). To feed such a stupendously increasing population the government of India needs to increase the availability of food grains at an affordable price. In an era where the per capita arable land is decreasing day by day one can hardly think of a higher production of eatable items by bringing more land under cultivation. The productivity of various agricultural commodities has reached to a plateau. Even after exploiting various novel strategies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology the agricultural production of our country cannot go beyond a certain level. Government, therefore, must think of some other alternative to materialize the mission of providing healthy and affordable food to all and forever. Getting the best out of the existing systems at the central and provincial level seems to be the only way out. In this context, the efficient management of agriculture sector as a whole is a relevant area for which the creation of an organized cadre of agricultural services at national level is much needed.

Since independence, several waves of reforms have moulded the Indian administrative cadre system into one of the most multifaceted and diverse system of the world. Depending on the demands of the situations several cadre services had been brought into action where technical personnel of the concerned fields were deputed to meet up the loopholes in the policy making at the grass root level. But what had been observed in the yester years was that the formation of a cadre system was done when situation of the concerned field was too precarious and grim, writhing in the clutches of ignorance and negligence. Our policy makers had never acted proactive regarding this matter in the history. Indian Bureaucratic red tapism has been strongly criticized by many harbingers of several agricultural revolutions. Father of White Revolution of India Dr. Verghese Kurien lambasted the system as “Should we not abolish the IAS? How long can we depend on them to frame the policy of the country. Greedy people, always looking at what post to grab.” (“The NDDB has no marketing capability: Abolish IAS.” Frontline, 15 March, 2003).

Like the pitchy darkness just beneath the lamp, our agriculture sector hovers under the dazzling picture of developing and progressive India. Since formation of the Agricultural Research Service

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(ARS) in the mid-seventies of the last century no major revision of the administrative set up has taken place. In the meantime several modifications relating to the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) system have taken place, all those have epitomized ICAR as the pivotal body of the NARS (National Agricultural Research System) but unable to develop any congenial ICAR-MOA (Ministry of Agriculture) interface so that the technologies and policies formulated by the scientists could get proper heed of the bureaucrats and get applied consequently.

Our ARS was a replication of a part of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) system. Revisiting the Indian agriculture policy in the context of the contemporary first, second and third world countries reveal that our policies are greatly confined within mere transient loan waivers and ephemeral subsidies which may serve the cause for the time being but dearth of long term sustaining policies looms large. Long term projects carried over by ICAR will be of no use if all those results do not fall under suitable hands as well.

Agriculture sector is an independent cadre in the first world USA and Australia, second world European Union and third world China and Brazil, but not in India. Besides the ARS, USDA has several other services that consolidate and ensures the technology generation, policy making and their implementation. Those include viz.

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) - AMS facilitates the strategic marketing of agricultural products in domestic and international markets while ensuring fair trading practices and promoting a competitive and efficient marketplace. AMS constantly works to develop new marketing services to increase customer satisfaction.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - APHIS provides leadership in ensuring the health and care of animals and plants. The agency improves agricultural productivity and competitiveness and contributes to the national economy and the public health.

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) - FNS increases food security and reduces hunger in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and low-income people access to food, a healthy diet, and nutrition education in a manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) - FSIS enhances public health and well-being by protecting the public from food borne illness and ensuring that the nation’s meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome, and correctly packaged.

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) - FAS works to improve foreign market access for U.S. products. This USDA agency operates programs designed to build new markets and improve the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - NRCS provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment. (Source:http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda /usdahome?navtype=MA&navid =AGENCIES_OFFICES_C)

Even the Forest Service is a part of the USDA agriculture cadre. The USA considers the technical persons suitable for running the agriculture sector, which needs technical inputs at each and every step of the policy formulation and implementation. But in our country anyone can run the primary

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sector of our country. Directors of various divisions of MOA, GOI viz. Horticulture, Seeds, Rainfed Farming etc. are from Indian Administrative Service, Indian Postal Service, and Indian Information Service respectively. All twenty two technical divisions of the MOA, Government of India and the various commodity boards like National Horticulture Board (NHB), Coconut Development Board (CDB) etc. are headed by the personnel from other cadres also.

Similar cadre system (USDA) exists in the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (DAFF) Australia, another agriculture super power. All the USDA services do exist in the DAFF with different names only (Source: http://www.daff.gov.au/_media/documents/about/a4orgchart.pdf). Ministry of Agriculture, China also has the above mentioned USDA services as independent institutions where respective agricultural cadres serve (Source: http://english.agri.gov.cn/ga/amoa/iumoa/). China has a more precision approach and orientation towards agricultural growth in the form of SAZ (Special Agricultural Zone) for optimization of best outputs from their existing natural resources on provincial basis. The Chinese cadre system in agriculture, which is one of the oldest cadre system of the world have driven their agriculture growth to the highest extent is a good example in front of us what an organized cadre can do in a developing economy of a third world country. Another developing country which often strives with India in the WTO sessions against the first world nations is Brazil. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) has the special agricultural zone pattern of China and the whole administration is also based on independent cadre system (Source: http://www.embrapa.br/english/embrapa/organograma).

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan rightly remarked “the prevailing global food scenario makes it clear that the future belongs to nations with grains and not guns”. Thereby, India should secure the future in the safe hands of technocrats from the agricultural system ushering the “Evergreen Revolution”.

In spite of being one of the lead producers in almost all the major consumables, food insecurity overcasts in the form of sky-rocketing price hike and changing weather in our country. When the research bodies are delivering their best for the sector (NARS), shortcomings surface on the behalf of the administration. An organized independent cadre system in agriculture in the form of Indian Agricultural Service comprising all the component services is the need of the hour. The huge mass of human resource churned out of the NARS should be deputed to serve the cadres. The agriculture sector is facing huge brain and talent drain to the other service sectors and we should restore our valuable human resources to serve the stream ensuring “right person at the right place”. So along with the existing ARS (Agricultural Research Service), which is a society service (under ICAR; a registered society under Societies Registration Act, 1860) there is a fervent need for creation of other services like Agricultural Developmental Services (ADS), Agricultural Inspection Services (AIS), Agricultural Education Services (AES), Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) and Agricultural Foreign Services (AFS) etc. All the above cadres must be central cadres under the banner of Indian Agricultural Service to bridge the gap between the ministry and the ICAR.

ADS will ensure implementation of the centrally formulated policies at the state level. AIS will secure the food safety, quarantine system and plant and animal health. AES will bring all the SAUs under a common roof and regularly recruit the best talents as teaching personnel maintaining the total transparency. AMS will be vigilant regarding the marketing chain of agricultural produce and their strategic marketing in domestic and international markets, avoiding the erratic price

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hike thereby. AFS will improve foreign market access for Indian products and IPR related issues to prevent biopiracy of Indian germplasms.

It is indeed painful to plead for something that had already been recommended. Constitution of All India Cadre of Indian Agriculture Service was duly suggested by various government appointed committees and commissions such as Nalagarh Committee (1958), National Commission on Agriculture (1976), Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations (1988). Also a resolution under Article 312 was passed by two-third majority in the Rajya Sabha on 30th March, 1965 and again in 1971, for creation of Indian Agriculture Service. Later on, Central 5th Pay Commission had also recommended for creation of Central Agriculture Service and 6th Central Pay Commission has also recommended for creation of integrated cadre of agriculture service.

Agriculture in India is not at all a lucrative career. Agriculture sector lacks the prestige and status in spite of being the lifeline of the Indian society. Youth of India are drifting away from this sector. Both skilled and unskilled workforces of the society are turning away from agriculture as well. Constitution of an organized cadre at the national level for agriculture will glorify the sector and will attract the students to take up agriculture as their profession. All those moves will increase the profitability of the farmers as well because magnification of the system will increase its accessibility to them.

All India Agricultural Students Association (AIASA) which has been constituted recently is the platform for agricultural students all over India who has joined hands in the name of restoration of the glory of the Indian agriculture and service to the nation with Honour. Let the present convention be the foundation stone for the new revolution dreamt in the existing agricultural administrative set up. Let the agriculture sector be the coveted career option for the Indian students regaining its own pride and prestige.

Let the present convention be the origin of great visions and missions to be undertaken in the way of emancipation of Indian agriculture and farmers to whom we owe our existence.

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S-III-P-2

Urgency of Innovation in Indian Agriculture Pedagogy

Joshi C. J. and Kirti BardhanASPEE College of Horticulture & Forestry,

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari Gujarat- 396450 Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

In India, still half of the population is depending on agriculture for their livelihood. After independence, green, blue, yellow and white revolutions have been brought prosperity to the farming communities and transform our nation status from “ship to mouth” to “self-sufficiency and exporter”. One of the key factor involved in success of revolution, is the role played by our agriculture graduates. However, across the globe, currently agriculture encountering new challenges because of limited resources and climate threats, and thus our human resources has now need to be evolve in tune with these challenges. It demands a renewed and enhanced quality agricultural education for developing self-motivated professionals and entrepreneurs. Here an attempt is made to review the innovation methodology adopted across the globe in agriculture pedagogy and their implications and relevance for Indian agriculture education. In India where majority of students, who are rural & socio-economically disadvantaged, still deprives from quality agriculture education. Nowadays, students are using Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube, e-Cera and other online resources (MOOCs) to get academic information. Studies indicated that Web 2.0 tools like Facebook & Wiki was used most likely to accessing information & communication whereas another study by NATCA (North American colleges & Teachers of Agriculture) showed that majority of instructors were using social media in education to deliver instructional information. Several studies found that adaptation of problem solving approach if used in agriculture courses, with confidence, provide advantage of learner’s retention of knowledge. Thus, to provide agriculture education effectively, innovative measures over and above the current established norms must be taken. Problem solving approach, role playing, case studies, crop specific simulation models/games & place based education are found very effective tool for improving learning outcomes. Web 2.0 technology, Wikipedia and blogs are found important for sharing, discussing and accessing agricultural information among students as well as teachers. Audio-visual aids are found viable learning tools for students as they are very familiar with this technology. Although, currently majority of faculties of our SAUs have not sufficient knowledge, skills and confidence related to use of information & communication technology. Moreover, lack of facilities of IT in campus & student’s workplace also restricted adaptation of these innovations in Indian condition. In India presently higher agricultural educational scenario suffers from low access, non-contemporary delivery methods, lack of faculty-competence in cutting edge technologies, and thus there is urgency to makeover our agricultural education pedagogy for securing future agriculture prosperity.

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Introduction“I have a painful experience of some agricultural graduates. Their knowledge is superficial. They

lack practical experience. But if they had their apprenticeship on farms which are self-sustained and answer the requirements of the country, they would not have to gain experience after getting their degrees and at the expense of their employers.”-Mahatma Gandhi, 31-7-1937, Harijan

India a country where from ancient time farming is the main occupation of most of people and still agriculture is the main source of livelihood for over 80% of the rural population of India. It employs about 52% of the labour force, contributing 14.4% of the total GDP and 10.23% of all exports (NAEP 2012).

The history of agricultural education system in India had distinctly evolved during pre-independence era based on the British system of education and in post-independence era based on the US Land Grant Colleges pattern. As a sequel to the 1876-78 famine, Lord Curzon - the Viceroy of India(1898-1905), realized that the government must pay priority and urgent attention to the development of agriculture. Henceforth, in the beginning of the 20th century, an Agricultural Research Institute, each at Pusa in Darbhanga district (now Samastipur) of Bihar(subsequently named Imperial and now Indian Agricultural Research Institute) and Coimbatore in the present-day Tamil Nadu were established in 1905.Then after on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Agriculture (1928),Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research was formed in 1929 to provide further impetus and support to the already existing Agricultural Research Institutes. In the early 1930s, postgraduate programmes leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in agriculture were started and by 1947 - the year of India’s independence, there were 17agricultural colleges affiliated to general universities. However after independence, country encountered a greater challenge of feeding the growing population and to be getting status of self-reliance in food grain production. That demands a mass of capable human resources in agriculture and so govt. of India appointed University Education Commission under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to review higher education and suggests measures for meeting the future requirement of the country. The Commission recommended that Agricultural Education be recognized as a major national priority so that the country is able to feed itself. Based on Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Commission on University Education and subsequent two Joint Indo-American Study Teams (1955, 1959) recommendations, first agricultural University was set up in Pantnagar in 1960, which paved the way for establishment of agricultural universities in other parts of the country. Establishment of these agricultural institutes developed new generation of skilled agricultural graduates. These agriculture graduates played a major role in success of revolution by fulfilling the desire goal of our university by innovation of new technologies (research), transfer of technology to farmer’s field (extension) and training of young people for scientific farming and sustainable agriculture (Education). This leads to green, blue, yellow and white revolutions which brought prosperity to the farming communities and transform our nation status from “ship to mouth” to “self-sufficiency and exporter”.

Why need innovation in Indian agriculture pedagogy?Human Resource development is continues process. It’s critical for sustaining, diversifying and

realizing the potentials of agriculture and development of our country. Right now, in agriculture

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this process is being undertaken through partnership and efforts of the components of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Agricultural Universities (AUs). System comprising 53 State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), five Deemed to be universities (DUs), one Central Agricultural University (CAU) and four Central Universities (CUs)with Agriculture Faculty (NAEP 2012).But agricultural education has now to evolve in tune with fast changing national and international scenario. Future agriculture is dominated by looming dangers of food insecurity originating from an unholy alliance of existing and emerging issues such as stagnating/declining productivity and profitability; degradation and depletion of natural resources; increased risks in the face of changing climate; unsafe livelihoods for millions of small and marginal farmers; regional imbalances in agricultural productivity; rising input costs, unsound profits and vulnerable markets; changing food habits and quality concerns; high post- harvest losses and fragmented processing industry; globalization of trade and commerce; weakened technology transfer system; fossil fuel crisis and growing emphasis on bio-fuels encroaching upon good agricultural lands; poorly coordinated natural disaster management system, and the looming prospects of bioterrorism etc.(NAEP 2012). Not only in India but across the globe, currently agriculture encountering new challenges because of limited resources and climate threats.

This alarming situation demands a enhanced quality of higher agricultural education so as to facilitate and undertake human capacity building for developing self-motivated professionals and entrepreneurs in view of the changing scenario of globalization of education, emergence of new areas of specialization such as IPRs, other WTO-related areas, techno-legal specialties etc., and the cutting edge technologies such as robotics, biosensors, genomics and biotechnology, alternative sources of energy, nanotechnology, etc. Our future graduates are required to possess professional capabilities and confidence to deal with the concerns of sustainable development (productive, profitable and stable) of agriculture in all its aspects. Also, the education should address the stakeholders’ expectations. In this situation we need to educate & prepare more number of self-motivated agriculture graduates. It requires effective dissemination of agricultural education for students who are from diverse demographic situations and socio-economic background. Indeed, it requires effective teaching & learning methodology for students, having a different learning approach. Thus, several innovative measures must be taken over and above the current established ones to enhance knowledge, skill and ability of agriculture graduates.

Which types of innovation we sought?

There are several types of innovation we sought for enhancing our teaching and learning. Among them, audio-visual aids for presentation and slideshow are prominent one as students are much familiar with the use of these aids. These aids help students to clear different concepts easily. One study at the Ohio state university concluded that students indicated being users of technology to download audio and video, making it a viable teaching tool for them. Thus, new technology like podcasts can be used in classrooms with students with little technology difficulties or anxieties. (Rhoades et. al. 2008). Some other innovative methodologies are discussed below.

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Use of Online courses and distant learningRecently, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka has developed a MOOC on

“Integrated Pest Management (lPM)” in association with IIT, Kanpur, NPTEL and COL, Canada. National Virtual Academy for Indian Agriculture and ICRISAT jointly started courses named ‘Diseases of Horticultural Crops and their Management. These online courses got a high response from students (Mondal 2015). In India where majority of students, who are rural & socio-economically disadvantaged, still deprives from quality agriculture education, these type of online courses and distant learning enables thousands of learners to access high quality education, in a single offering at their home.

Use Web2.0 as effective learning toolInformation Communication Technologies (ICTs) have great influence in teaching, learning,

education, research, extension, administration, marketing, library information services and other scholarly and professional activities through improved communication and access to information. Web2.0 is one of the important ICT.Web 2.0 is the term used to describe a variety of web sites and applications that allow anyone to create and share online information or material they have created. A key element of the technology is that it allows people to create, share, collaborate & communicate.

These Web2.0 technologies like Wikipedia or some blogs are true two-way communication. One can read and write on the same portal. Online video conference & seminars are also held nowadays using Web2.0 technology. Thus this technology is important for effective and efficient acquisition, storing and accessing the agricultural information. (Jayadeet. al. 2013)

Web 2.0 based virtual class (http://kirtivardhan.in/)

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Facebook and WikipediaIndia is world’s second largest internet user’s nation (2015) and India has around 100 million

active users of Facebook (The Economic Times 2014). Many students regularly like to visit important pages and groups on Facebook for getting and discussing academic information. ‘Indian Council of Agricultural Research’, ‘Food and Agricultural organization of the United Nations’, ‘Wonders of agriculture’, ‘Crop Science’, ‘Vegetable Gardening’ are some of the example of very popular Facebook pages accessing frequently for getting various agricultural information. Wikipedia is also preferred for accessing various data and information of agriculture with reference. ‘Agriculture in India’, ‘Organic farming’, ‘Precision Farming’ is some of the example of wiki pages.

One study at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania revealed that Web2.0 tools like Facebook and Wikipedia is most likely to use accessing information and communication by students and teachers. The degree of adoption of most of the mentioned Web 2.0 tools in teaching and learning was found positive (Mtegaet al. 2013).

Usage purpose Preferred Web 2.0 toolBlogs Facebook Wikis LinkedIn Google drive YouTube

Accessing information

52 (43.3%) 114 (95%) 117 (97.5%) 29 (24.2%) 89 (74.2%) 90 (75%)

Communication 20 (16.7%) 45 (37.5%) 50 (41.7%) 9 (07.5%) 35 (29.2%) 39 (32.5%)Socialization 23 (19.2%) 84 (70.0%) 9 (07.5%) 6 (05.0%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (0.8%)Entertainment 11 (09.2%) 30 (25.0%) 30 (25.0%) 0 (0.0%) 2 (01.7%) 18 (15.0%)

In parenthesis percentage of students preference from number of respondents involved in study.

Video-sharing sites and online forums:Nowadays students are very much aware about educational video sharing sites like ASAP

Science, TED-Ed, Khan Academy, Yale online courses. This sites provides easy access of education and main advantage of this video sharing site is that it can rewind, pause and download to see anytime, anywhere and as many times as they want. Students also prefer to use online forums to interact with each other by exchanging tips and discussing topics related to a certain theme. These online forums are also known as discussion boards or message boards. ‘Indiabix’ and ‘Caclubindia’ are very popular online forums of India.

NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) study results showed that majority of instructors were using social media in education to deliver instructional information. Online forums were the most widely used social media type for all uses, with discussion being the highest (42.7%, n=99) over video sharing sites, facebook, Blogs, Wikis, Microblogs and non-facebook social networking. While the video-sharing sites were the next most-used social media type, with assignments (26.7%, n=62) and discussion (25.4%, n =59).More participants expected student productivity (37.4%, n = 86) and amount of communication with students (78.7%, n = 181) would increase as a result of social media in education than those who expected they would decrease.(Quisto Settle et al. June 2011)

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TwitterPeople love to join twitter as it gives important update in short and precise manner. Nowadays,

many faculties and teacher using their twitter account for sharing information and topic discussion off the class rooms. As Rob Griffith, is a tech-loving social studies teacher at New York who strives to use technology for more efficient and effective teaching (@rgriffithjr). Eric Sheninger is the principal of New Milford High School in New Jersey who is also an author, a Google Certified Teacher and an ASCD Conference Scholar. On Twitter, he tweets a mix of interesting article links and good advice for students(@NMHS_Principal) (Caron 2012). Thus, it can help in dissemination of information very easily like informing students about due date or assignment, creating hash tag for various important subject related treads, follow the issues, post supplementary material and sharing important links.

Use of problem solving approachProblems solving approach means to focus on the improvement of students by make them face to

practical problems rather than just study with subject matter approach. Osborne E. et al. (University of Illinois Aug. 1987) recommended that because of the slight advantage of the problem solving approach in the area of student retention of knowledge, the problem solving approach may be used with confidence to teach introductory vocational agriculture courses.

Use of Role playing, Case studies and simulation games as learning toolAs Einstein correctly stated that “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds

to think”, however, because of nature of agricultural sciences, as compared to medical sciences, it is limited to expose students to real world crop sciences problems viz. effect of biotic and abiotic stresses, nutrient deficiency diagnosis etc. and crop growth specific responses. Currently student experience to such knowledge is directly proportionate to the experience and exposure of the individual course faculty to these problems. However, to alleviate such deficiency in acquaintance, there are many approaches are being popularized viz. role playing, case studies approach and computer simulation games.

Role playing requires physical involvement on the part of students. For example, while presenting the subject of price determination, a role-playing exercise patterned around the open-outcry market typical of commodity futures markets was used. Some students may participate in auction and some may become farmers and others may act as wholesalers. During this, students have to negotiate transaction prices with one another, and generate set of prices in an equilibrium, surplus, and shortage situation. Students could see that the theory presented in their textbooks did, in fact, describe what happened in their exercise.

The purpose of studying cases in the various courses is not always to learn specific answers to specific problems, but to become familiar with analysis and decision making, with the process of arriving at answers rather than with answers themselves. For example, if farmer face some problem regarding fruit drop in his farm, then there may be chance of several reasons like it can be due to nutritional deficiency, insect-pest infestation, abiotic stress or any other. It can be diagnose only after visiting farmers field. Students can’t learn this just by remembering some pre-analysed symptoms and control measures.

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Simulation means imitation of some real thing or process. Simulation games represent certain key characteristic or behaviour of selected physical and abstract system to teach students about certain subjects and advanced concept or assist them in learning a skill as they play.

Blank S. (1985) study showed that there was a significant impact of various teaching aids on exam scores in different agricultural economic courses. The results of the experiment indicated that these techniques improve students understanding of complicated material when combined with lecture presentations.

Aid (Course) Average Exam Score % Change

Control Group Test Group Topic Total

Role playing (Introductory) 65 68 3 4.6

Case studies (Research Methods) 70 78 - 11.4

Simulation/Computer game (Marketing)

72 83 - 15.3

Another study at department of animal nutrition and management at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences finds that introducing simulated cow(Molly) in teaching; was helpful to activate the students, to replace abstractions with good theories connected to reality, increase the possibilities for the students to see structure and improve course integration (Uden, 1995). One can also use crop specific simulation models for easiness of teaching. ‘Extinct- Plant survival game’ is the good examples of it. Student can easily learn that what strategies he need to adopt to survive as a wild plant and how these strategies are different if he wants to survive as a crop plant by playing it. Students can also get an idea of grow roots to get water and minerals, leaves to trap energy from sunlight and flowers for pollination by insects (Middleton P. BBSRC).

Place based education is the process of using the local community & environment as starting point to teach concepts.(Sobel, 2001) This will surely not a worthy teaching if explanation of flower structure of mango is given just on blackboard rather than taking students to see real flowers of mango in backyard of class.

Constraints in using innovative measuresl Administration of agricultural university should accept that students and teachers differ in learning

styles. Some of the students find subject matter as problem whereas some do not envision subject matter as a problem. There is need of using this knowledge for effective learning.

l The success of integrating information and communication technologies into the educational system depends largely on the skills and knowledge of teachers. There is a need to review of teacher’s knowledge and skills related to information and communication technology use.

l Now, many databases and journals are only available online. Without access to these materials, students will not be able to conduct extensive and exhaustive reviews of literature. However, still at many institute students can’t access internet due to less facilities of IT at campus and their workplace.

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l There is a lack of awareness and confidence among teachers for using various social media like twitter and Facebook as effective teaching tool.

l Many agricultural students use various Web2.0 tools but they are not trained enough for effective use of it for academic purpose.

l Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming popular among students. Although still couldn’t find a place in revised learning style. There is need to develop custom designed MOOCs to meet the skill requirement of the students.

l Peoples are not much aware about use simulation games/models in education. There is a need to develop crop specific simulation games/models for our conditions.

ConclusionIndia continues to tenant the largest number of poor in the world (250 million out of nearly 1000

million worldwide) and home of 194.6 million undernourished people, the highest in the world. Signs of a looming food security crisis are emerging and will be more frequent in near future, in these circumstances, it is inescapable for us to ask how we, as the agriculture nation, intend to develop our future generation equipped with knowledge and skills so that we ensure agriculture remains a vibrant contributor to the nation economy.

Use of Web2.0 tools, simulation models, role playing, case study, problem solving approaches and place based education and online courses have significant positive impact on increasing student’s knowledge and skill.

Though, currently majority of faculties of our SAUs have not sufficient knowledge, skills and confidence related to use of above discussed approaches in pedagogy. Moreover, lack of facilities of IT in campus & student’s workplace also restricted adaptation of these innovations in Indian condition. Thus, In India presently higher agricultural educational scenario suffers from low access, non-contemporary delivery methods, lack of faculty-competence in innovative teaching methodology. If we are committed for wellbeing of our farming community and securing food security of 1.5 billion Indians in 2030, we call urgent revolution in Indian agriculture pedagogy.

ReferencesAnon. (2012). Draft document of National Agricultural Education Project. ICAR education Division. www.icar.

org retrieved on 5-10-2013.

Blank S. (1985).Effectiveness of Role Playing, Case Studies, and Simulation Games in Teaching Agricultural Economics.Western Journal of Agricultural Economics.10(1): 55-62.

Caron S. (2012). Top 15 Educators on Twitter. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/top-15-educators-on-twitter.shtml

Jayade, K. G.; Gaikwad, C. J.; Khot, P. G. and Nikose, S. M. (2013).Study of web 2.0 technology for agricultural information management.American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.,3(1): 29-34.

Middleton P. Extinct – plant survival game. Retrieved from http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/engagement/schools/keystage4/extinct/.

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Mondal S. (2015). Open Agricultural Educational Resources in India: Present Status and Way Forward. Retrieved December 24, 2015, from http://openaccessindia.org/7442/.

Mtega W.; Benard R. and Dettu M. (2013). The prospects of Web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning in higher learning institutes: The case study of the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. Knowledge Management & E-Learning., 5(4): 404-418.

Osborne E. and Flowers J. (1987). The Problem Solving and Subject Matter Approaches to Teaching Vocational Agriculture: Effects on Student Achievement and Retention. pp.20-26.

Rhoades E. et. al, (2008). Internet as an information source: attitudes and usage of students enrolled in a college of agriculture course. Journal of Agricultural Education., 49(2):109-117.

Settle Q.et. al.(2015). Instructors’ Social Media Use and Preferences in Agriculture Classes.NACTA Journal.,78-83.

Singh S. (2014). After 100 million users in India, Facebook aims at 1 billion. Retrieved Aug. 9, 2014, from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/.

Sobel D. (2001). Place-based Education: Connecting Classroom and Community.

Uden P. (1995). Teaching Agricultural Science by use of a Simulated Cow.Council for renewal of higher education.pp.1-5.

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LEAD AND FULL LENGTH PAPERSTechnical Session-IV

Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for Agripreneurship Development

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S-IV-P-1

Employment and Empowerment through Vocational Training

C. K. TimbadiaProgramme co-ordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra,

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India E-mail: [email protected]

Vocational trainings are being organized by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari for rural youths and other enthusiastic young farmer’s in order to generate employment through agriculture and allied activities. Since 2006, KVK, Navsari is working in more than 92 villages comprising 400 group leaders. Through these leaders KVK is transferring technologies to more than 70,000 beneficiaries every year. Last Five years vocational trainings and its impact have been studied and the result revealed that, under nursery management six courses had conducted covering 104 beneficiaries’ covering eight villages intensively. Income ranges from Rs. 60,000/- and Rs. 5, 16,000/- from Ornamental Plants and Mango graft & fruit crop sapling production respectively. Likewise different vocational trainings are conducting viz., Vermicomposting, Kitchen Garden, Stitching & Tailoring, Mushroom Cultivation Masala Making and Value Addition. In the course of time, tribal youths and & tribal girls generated employments and empowered financially. This created the interested others to do and practice agriculture and more over this helps in reduction in migration of rural youths towards urban.

IntroductionKrishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari located in Agro Ecological sub region 19.1 of India is representing

coastal eco system of South Gujarat. KVK is making all out efforts to transfer the relevant technologies to the farmers and stake holders in most effective ways. During past five years, apart from cent per cent accomplishment of mandatory work. For the purpose of transfer of technology, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari working in more than 92 villages are under intensive activity. For the effective technology transfer, around 200 farmers groups are formed in adopted villages and 400 group leaders are identified from each group for the planning as well as implementation of various extension activities they are the hands of the KVK. With intensive work, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari studied the actual situation of farmers, identified their needs and based on their needs programmes are conducted and made each programme more effective. For the value addition of farm produce, vocational trainings are conducted such as preparation of Chikku (Sapota) & Papaya jam, Mango Jam, Mango pulp etc. and tried to empower the farm women through women training programmes.

Skills are central to improve employability and livelihood opportunities, reduce poverty, enhance productivity, and promote environmentally sustainable development. Coordinated efforts are

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needed to develop an integrated approach that improves access to relevant, good quality education and training to all rural women and men. KVK is making all out efforts to transfer the relevant technologies to the farmers and stake holders in most effective ways. During past five years, apart from cent per cent accomplishment of mandatory work, KVK, Navsari has under taken pertinent additional activities worth Rs. 9.1 crore funded by Govt. of Gujarat (TSP,NAU), Central Govt. (RKVY, ICAR), other agencies IWMI-TATA etc..

Materials and Methods

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari conducted 17 different courses for 7 vocational trainings. Total benefitted numbers are 310 details are represented in Table 1. Training is one of the primary means to build the capacity of poor people to participate and benefit from mainstream economic development. The KVK, Navsari targeting great emphasis on capacity-building and training which are fundamental to the success of other development interventions. These may include a variety of training activities: vocational and skills training, (functional) literacy training, training for specific capacities, technical advisory training, and extension services (farmer field schools). This paper presents the results of vocational trainings carried out to provide greater employment and empowerment.

Results and Discussion

During the course of time total 304 beneficiaries benefitted through different vocational training programmes, details are represented in Table 2 Among seven different vocational training nursery management obtained highest return ranges from Rs. 60,000 to 5,16,000 since the Navsari district falls under larger area in mango the demand for mango sampling is more. The next best income generating activity is preparation of vermicomposting. After the successful training four people started vermicomposting income ranged from Rs. 24,000 to 5, 70,000 it’s depend upon the quantity they produce. Other vocational trainings like kitchen garden, stitching and tailoring, mushroom cultivation, masal making and value addition to generate fair amount for their livelihood.

The followings are the main issues highlighted in the district studies to promote employment and training opportunities with the aim of reducing poverty.

Employment and Income Generation

Rural youth face an on-going struggle to find decent work opportunities. A large number of them habitually migrate to urban area’s only to find limited chances of find meaningful employment. An alternative is to create income generating job.

Employment Opportunities

Improving productivity in the agricultural sector and exploring effective livelihood diversification. It also concerns the promotion of youth entrepreneurship, which in turn can provide greater opportunities for employment, skills development and innovation in products and services.

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TrainingIn order to enhance the quality and relevance of training and encourage families and the rural

youth to recognize the benefits of training, it is important to access labour market needs in the given local context, and formulate training meeting needs and preferences of the rural youth. A lack of information and awareness among the youth, their families and communities on the availability and usefulness of training (particularly those meeting labour market demands) is a major problem. The media, such as newspapers, television and radio, can be utilized to communicate the benefits of training, in addition to broader dissemination of information on available training opportunities, scholarships, youth programmes and job fairs.

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S-IV-P-2

Need of Competence and skill for tackling climate change, organic agriculture and adoption of newer technologies

Om GuptaDean, College of Agriculture, JNKKV, Jabalpur M.P-482004 Emai.id: [email protected]; [email protected]

Agricultural education has attracted attention of planners since long and the curriculum is revised as per need of the day for which Indian Councils of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is playing the leading role. The competencies and expertise required in the young professionals aim on the recent problems, like climate change, induced by burning of fossil fuels, coal burning by the power plants, emission from the industrial factories, large scale deforestation leading to temperature increase, fluctuations in rainfall pattern causing loss of moisture, occurrence of cyclones, thunderstorms, floods as also the rising of the sea-level, which may ultimately see in many coastal cities and towns inundated. All these factors influence production and productivity of crops. Biotic stresses also increase influence of pathogens and insect pests leading to epidemics. Hence, natural resource management technologies like agro-ecologically sustainable farming systems with suitable crops and their varieties need prior attention.

Innovative methods may have to be adopted to develop adaptation strategies to overcome the impacts due to climate change and climate variability so, that the food and livelihood security of rainfed farmers can be ensured. There is a need for a greater understanding of the effect of climate change on the efficacy of synthetic fungicides, their persistence in the environment, and development of resistance in pathogens populations to the fungicides.

Under the climate change scenario, many of the conventional cultivation practices and strategies may no longer be relevant. Therefore, there is a need to recommend technologies to the farmers which respond well to climate change effects and give greater resilience against such shocks. Growing short duration promising genotypes, photo-insensitive, high- tillering cultivars with optimal root traits and tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses, mulching with crop residues, planting more seedling per hill for heat stress, better soil nutrient and water management, moisture conservation for late onset of monsoon and life-saving irrigation with stored rainwater for mid-season drought to harvest, positive effects of the increased CO2 level are a few recommended strategies to cope with the effects of climate change and variability on dry land agriculture.

Organic agriculture by avoidance of synthetic chemicals, toxic pesticides – insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers etc. is preferred. There are various components of organic agriculture; their knowledge will increase the horizon of the agricultural scientists. Organic manures with composting methods, vermicompost, agriculture, biofertilizers like blue green algae, Azolla, nitrogen fixing bacteria, mycorrhizal, fungi, sulphur oxidizing microbes, phosphate solubilizing microloes, remediation of heavy metals and salinity stress through microbes, weed management

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practices, biocontrol of weeds, biological control of pathogens, botanicals for insect pest control, birds in insect control, organic seed production, Agro forestry in organic agriculture need attention. Better agricultural production technologies developed in other countries like Israel, China, Japan etc. need thorough appraisal and inclusion to develop skills by the scientists. Besides course curriculum there are a number of researchable issues which may be undertaken as thesis researcher.

Effective and quality higher education is essential for fostering innovation in agri based agribusiness. Emphasis is required on all the three major aspects in agriculture i.e. Education, Research and Extension. Overall improvement in the agricultural research and extension can only be possible by developing better status of technology and need based efforts in the higher education system followed by efficient implementation of funds, superior climate modeling, and increased international collaboration.

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61


ABSTRACTSTechnical Session-I

ICAR and DAC initiatives for youth in agriculture

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63


S-I-A-1

Role of Youth in Rural Development through Agriculture

Bhargav Anurag, Piyush Vagadia, Dhruv Kapadiya, Hasmukh Zinzuvadiya and Ravi Vaniya

College of Agril.Engg.and Tech., Dediapada campus, Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat, India


India is blessed country with diverse agro climatic regions, fertile soil and young blood which is promising factor for the Indian agriculture. More than half of India’s population is under age of 25, with 65 per cent under 35 years and the rural population is around 70 per cent. Young farmers have greater capacity of innovation, imagination, initiative and entrepreneurship than older adults and these characteristics effectively joined to provide livelihood opportunities to other rural youth to engage in agriculture. Young farmers are taking initiatives to flourishing Indian agriculture through adopting and implementation of developed production technologies and new innovative models viz. sustainable agriculture, organic farming, precision farming, contract farming, organized marketing and trading of value added agriculture products, ICTs, adopting alternative sources of energy etc. Youth also engaged in profitable farming systems like hi-tech horticulture, nursery industry, honey production and earning higher income in shortest time of period. Organised groups of young farmers will be useful for introducing new production technologies and organizing effective input and output markets. Young farmers and entrepreneurs are the role model for the others. Success stories of the innovative young farmers/agripreneurs including those youth who have successfully launched agri-ventures/agri-entrepreneurship in different parts of the country may be highlighted through radio, TV and newspapers to motivate other young farmers. The community radio too can play vital role in encouraging and making young farmers aware about the possibilities in agricultural sector.

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S-I-A-2


Syed WasifurRahman, PranjitSutradharAshfeeka Islam, and Binoy Kumar MedhiDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology,

Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India E-mail: [email protected]

Though agriculture is the backbone of our Indian economy, a very few is attracted to this noble profession. It is a profession chosen not by choice but by accident and therefore remains an accidental profession. So, expectations from such a profession seldom meet its needs and commitment. In our country, one kind of standard has been created for our farmer which speaks the truth – that there is no life being a farmer and always remained dwindling between the two, the second being attraction of youth towards urban living. Present situation of humongous population along with food security will put the country at stake, if we keep travelling the same route. The time is right now to excavate a new route or it will be too late to be what we might have been. The country is young with fifty five per cent populations being below twenty five years of age and targeting this group will of course yield in a fruitful way. A brand new song is a demand of this group and may be sung. Our base is our school and a paradigm shift in our academic curriculum is a must by including agricultural basics for attracting youths and retaining them to ensure long term sustainability. Moreover, Agriculture should also be given a professional status which is still considered as a semi-professional course, as our younger generation is more directed to study a professional course after their higher school. A revolution in case of retaining youth is the need of the hour and therefore soft power like media, television, cinema, internet etc. have tremendous opportunities to contribute and turn the blurred picture into coloured. Honestly, these are some of today’s holy places where most of our youth remains glued. Even though agriculture has been mechanized, a new era of rainbow revolution yet the youth perception towards agriculture is still playing holi in the muddy fields which hurts their self-respect as it is not a white collar job. In our country the farming community is still suffering even though the Government is implementing different schemes for the upliftment of the farmers and this is why the youth of the rural areas prefer to move to urban areas for a minimum salary job rather than to get them involved in farming. The KVK system so far has proved to be a great success but it is not sufficient to uplift a district with minimum peoples, so implementation of more KVKs in block level is needed to facilitate every farmers. Our youth lacks interest in farming because they have seen their forefathers struggling by taking farming as a profession but once they see the change, they will automatically be motivated. The engagement of youth as a process requires multi-dimensional efforts and holistic interventions by all concerned-policy makers. The use of mobile apps in farming and the introduction of ICT in farming for better information dissemination will also help in changing the perception. Our media can play a great role to change the scenario by telecasting success stories of the progressive farmers so that they will be recognized and appreciated in public spheres. Expansion

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of information, education and development of practical training of youth, exhibition and exposure speech can enhance the confidence level as well as the capability level of the youth functionaries. Government departments also need to come near to the youth and establish close link with youth by giving every inputs including Government land in lease to the interested youths in farming to promote their participation. There is lack of interest of younger generation in agriculture due to low social status for agriculture worker, rise in costs of inputs, fragmentation of land and out migration. To engage and empower young people in agriculture, the sector needs to be able to address young people’s aspirations and their expectations, and offer potential for social mobility as the youth are the main resources for nation building.

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S-I-A-3

Urgency of Innovation in Indian Agriculture Pedagogy

Joshi C.J. and Kirti BardhanASPEE College of Horti & forestry,

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari-396450, Gujarat, India Email: [email protected]

In India, still half of the population is depending on agriculture for their livelihood. After independence, green, blue, yellow and white revolutions have been brought prosperity to the farming communities and transform our nation status from “ship to mouth” to “self-sufficiency and exporter”. One of the key factor involved in success of revolution, is the role played by our agriculture graduates. However, across the globe, currently agriculture encountering new challenges because of limited resources and climate threats, and thus our human resources has now need to be evolve in tune with these challenges. It demands a renewed and enhanced quality agricultural education for developing self-motivated professionals and entrepreneurs. Here an attempt is made to review the innovation methodology adopted across the globe in agriculture pedagogy and their implications and relevance for Indian agriculture education. In India where majority of students, who are rural & socio-economically disadvantaged, still deprives from quality agriculture education. Nowadays, students are using Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube, e-Cera and other online resources (MOOCs) to get academic information. Studies indicated that Web 2.0 tools like Facebook & Wiki was used most likely to accessing information & communication whereas another study by NATCA (North American colleges & Teachers of Agriculture) showed that majority of instructors were using social media in education to deliver instructional information. Several studies found that adaptation of problem solving approach if used in agriculture courses, with confidence, provide advantage of learner’s retention of knowledge. Thus, to provide agriculture education effectively, innovative measures over and above the current established norms must be taken. Problem solving approach, role playing, case studies, crop specific simulation models/games & place based education are found very effective tool for improving learning outcomes. Web 2.0 technology, Wikipedia and blogs are found important for sharing, discussing and accessing agricultural information among students as well as teachers. Audio-visual aids are found viable learning tools for students as they are very familiar with this technology. Although, currently majority of faculties of our SAUs have not sufficient knowledge, skills and confidence related to use of information & communication technology. Moreover, lack of facilities of IT in campus & student’s workplace also restricted adaptation of these innovations in Indian condition. In India presently higher agricultural educational scenario suffers from low access, non-contemporary delivery methods, lack of faculty-competence in cutting edge technologies, and thus there is urgency to makeover our agricultural education pedagogy for securing future agriculture prosperity.

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S-I-A-4

Strategies for Youth Empowerment in Agriculture: Some Issues

C.K. Panda, S.R. Singh and Neeraj KumarDepartment of Extension Education Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour,

Bhagalpur-813 210, India

Agriculture is the economic backbone of rural India and raw material source of agri-industries and allied industries. In contrast, farming sector is the burning example of disguise unemployment and it is the livelihood option of more than 60% rural people of India. It is also the last choice livelihood of rural educated and uneducated youth. However, agricultural growth reduces poverty directly, by raising farm income, and indirectly, through generating employment (World Bank Report, 2008).Empowering youth in agriculture necessitated multi-domains study and their synergism and antagonism. Multi-domains include political context and policies of the government; existing infrastructure facilities and willingness of government for creation of new infrastructure through its own and ancillaries departments and also through direct private investment or pragmatic public private partnership (PPP) model; Safeguarding the national rural market from Multinational Corporations (MNCs) competitiveness and preparing agrarian communities for competing with these MNCs in future; Bureaucratic bottleneck, red tapism, level of corruption, marketing facilities, e-governance and failure in application of ICT tools in all sphere of rural domains. Apart from these most of the institutional research are not convincing enough to boost, develop and sustain confidence of youth in empowerment in agriculture. Major pitfalls noted in training are to selection of deserving trainees, suitable trainers and training infrastructure. Major problems in youth empowerment programmes are inadequate financial support; failure in providing basic/infrastructures; encouragement for execution of sub-standard projects; politics, rivalries and jealousy; inability to accept change in traditional and cultural practices; and difficulty in accessing resources such as land, finance and market information. Review of scholarly research finding emphasizes two major points for youth empowerments in agriculture, via: information sharing and market facilities.

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S-I-A-5

Empowering Rural Youth for a Better Future in Bihar1Amit Kumar, 2Neeraj Kumar and 3Sudhir Kumar

1, 2 & 3Research Scholar, 1,2Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813 210 3Division of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

NRCPB, IARI, New Delhi-110 012 1Email: [email protected]

It estimated that at the time of 2020, our (India) population will include more than 500 million young citizens. It means that we have world’s youngest people have merely aged less than 25 years old. In Bihar, the state government records show that there are about 40 million people in the age group of 15 to 29 years of which less than 1 per cent had some sort of formal vocational training. Therefore that our young brigade (India’s youth) require the right educational infrastructure to develop skills and acceptable opportunities to get employed or become entrepreneurs. Keeping this view a tripartite agreement were signed among the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for starting skill development programme in Bihar. According to the agreement, NSDC through its will facilitate quality training through its approved training partners and placement to the trainees through its training partner network. That in turn, a very high percentage of skilled workforces generated. It cost in the high per capita income in Bihar. As far as agriculture sector is concern, Indian agriculture will receive a big boost if the country takes advantage of its young population and encourages them into the farm sector by making it lucrative. Further, it needs to revive the closed industry in Bihar, so that it increases the industry based crop production. And again a spice based processing plant should be established. So that some kind of employment may generated and an environment has been may create within the state so that talented people could excel here it.

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ABSTRACTSTechnical Session-II

Agripreneurship Development through Institutional & Industrial Linkages

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S-II-A-1

Agripreneurship and Employment Generation in Rural Areas

Hasmukh Zinzuvadiya*, Piyush Vagadia, Dhruv Kapadiya, Maitry Desai and Bharat Chaudhari

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat – 396 450, India E-mail: [email protected]

Large population of India is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. But Indian agriculture is low productive are with large number of disguised unemployed. However, development of entrepreneurship in the areas of agriculture requires special skills like human development, knowledge of agriculture, knowledge of global agriculture market. With employment of more than 50 percent of labour force agriculture sector is major employment provider even today. The seasonal nature of agriculture and lack of irrigation facilities creates problem of seasonal and cyclical unemployment. The situation of an uneducated, unskilled rural labour migrating from rural to urban areas is like middle class citizens without their own identity. Agripreneurship is solution to many economic problems. It helps in rural development Agro entrepreneurship can be used as best medicine for the solution of this problem. Developing entrepreneurs in agriculture will solve all the problem viz. (a) reduce the burden of agriculture (b) generate employment opportunities for rural youth (c) control migration from rural to urban areas (d) increase national income (e) support industrial development in rural areas (f) reduces the pressure on urban cities etc.Establishment of village-based Farm Schools to demonstrate and impart advanced technology to farmers on their own lands. Policy and legal measures to encourage contract farming arrangements between agri-business firms and self-help groups in order to increase small farmers’ access to advanced technology, quality inputs, bank credit, processing, marketing and crop insurance.Government power policy should encourage private sector investment in promote contract farming, self-help groups and to improve crop insurance and leasing of wastelands and forest lands for forest development.

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S-II-A-2

Agripreneurship Development in India

Pankaj Kumar Ojha, PriyankaKumari, Subhash Kumar and Abhinandan Singh Rajendra Agricultural University, PUSA, Samastipur, Bihar, India

Email: [email protected]

Generally Agripreneurs should be proactive, curious, determined, persistence, visionary, hardworking, honest, integrity with strong management and organizational skills. Agripreneurs are also known as Agricultural Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs may be defined as innovators who drive change in the economy by serving new markets or creating new ways of doing things and they are the persons who always take moderate risk. Thus, an agripreneurs may be someone who undertakes a variety of activities in agriculture sector in order to be an entrepreneur. Agripreneurship is the profitable face of agriculture and entrepreneurship. Agripreneurship covert individual’s farm into an agribusiness. The term Agripreneurship is synonym with entrepreneurship in agriculture and refers to agribusiness establishment in agriculture and allied sector. As India is agriculture based country and this offers the wide range of activities or jobs for the youth and others. On 2.4 percent of world land India is managing 17.5 percent of world population. At present Indian agriculture needs the soul-cooperation from the youth for sustainability. Agripreneurship have the potential to contribute to a range of social and economic development such as employment generation, income generation, poverty reduction and improvements in nutrition, health and overall food security in the national economy. Agripreneurship has potential to generate growth, diversifying income, providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas. An entrepreneur is an individual who recognizes an opportunity or unmet need and takes the risk to pursue it. He needs to develop these abilities, managing productivity and seeking out new markets. Personal qualities of an agri-entrepreneur significantly affect the agribusiness. Self-criticism, leadership, market orientation and creativity are important for successful entrepreneurship development. An individual with moderate risk bearing capacity and a quest for latest knowledge in agriculture sector can prove to be a right agripreneurs. The agriculture sector has a large potential to contribute to the national income while at the same time providing direct employment and income to the numerically larger and vulnerable section of the society. Agripreneurship is not only an opportunity but also a necessity for improving the production and profitability in agriculture and allied sector. This focuses the all aspects of entrepreneurship development in the agricultural sector.

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S-II-A-3

Trichoderma Formulation: A Good Entrepreneur for Indian Youth

Abhishek Mishra, Gautam Veer Chauhan, VivekTrivediand Ankur MishraC. S. Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur-208002, India

Popularizations of biopesticides are increasing rapidly as compared to chemicals. Among the different biopesticides, Trichoderma is most exploited and have many success stories. Trichoderma viride and Trichoderma harzianum have curved a niche for themselves in India as important biocontrol agents for management of various diseases. A number of successful products based on different species of Trichoderma have been commercialized in India. The formulation of this Trichoderma sp. is prepared by different organic and inorganic carriers through solid and liquid fermentation technologies. These technologies provide good entrepreneurial platform to the Indian youth in present era. Here I have compared some techniques of Trichoderma formulation from the economic methods and my aim is to develop best technique to produce bio control product that can enter the world market and compete the commercial production. Talc based formulation, Farm Yard Manure (FYM), Fruit waste based formulation, Press mud based formulation and Wheat straw based formulation, among five methods of formulation the press mud formulation technique is more economic and eco-friendly method for Trichoderma formulation.

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S-II-A-4

Agro-Eco Tourism: A Novel Activity for Re-Inventing Agriculture by Increasing Youth Involvement

Lipishmita N. Mishra ChetnaSinha, R. S. Khandeand R. K. PatelDepartment of Agronomy, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (C.G.) – 492012


Agro-Eco Tourism is the symbiotic association of farming sector and tourism industry for the purpose of recreation through active involvement in farm activities thereby increasing awareness of agrarian heritage.Inclusion of agriculture in lucrative tourism value chainsis an unobtrusive development reflecting environmental values and provides the opportunity for economic growth. The innovative products provided by this sector are farms stays, guest ranches, organic food, fruits items, recreation pond, fishing, plantations, dairy, piggery, poultry, processing of farm products, demonstration of farm activities, wool processing, rural festival celebration, handicrafts, folklore, dances and various rides like –bullock cart, tractor, horse etc. Youth of the country are highly idealistic and potent change agents and they constitute one third of the country’s total population. Involvement of the youth, the next generation of leaders will foster a more positive relationship with agriculture and tourism industry.They are exceptionally well-placed to plan income generating activitieslike arrangement for accommodation, food, transport, excursion, linkage with market for village craft items etc.Many youths can be given basic training by authorities to act as eco-tourist guides and several service positions like house-keeping and also be provided with necessary literature etc. to pass on information to the visitors. Farmers can earn better from innovative use of available resources while the tourist can enjoy village life and nature at affordable prices. A significant number of youth are caught in a vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment such youth can contribute to the mainstream for national development and can lead an economically productive and quality life. This indeed will create self-reliance among them as well as boost nation’s economy.Agro-eco tourism is a potential alternative to routine tourism and is harmonious with nature bringing about overall transformation of rural sectors into active functional centers. Since, government support is lacking there is need for a radical reorientation of government policies towards agro-eco tourism to revive agriculture.

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S-II-A-5

Role of Agro Centers for Farm and Farmers - Selfish Business Man or Helping Friends?

Sharadbhuva, MovaliyaHradik and RamaniJaydeepJunagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, Gujarat.


Human beings have to earn for money for their social and family responsibility. That’s bitter truth. And we must admit this one, physically and mythological capable take advice from their older and dear one and decided his/her career path accordingly his/her Capacity. According to famous Guajarati saying /quotes, “Best one is to farm, ordinary is to do business, and last comes job/service”. Everyone is not able to do farming, coz it takes lots of effort and dedication, there are so may many reason not to do farming, but put this things beside and let’s discuss on one of huge agri. allied sector. And I/we are sure that this topic is not much discussed and any one has paid attention towards this sector. And what I am exactly talking about is “AGRO CENTERS”.

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S-II-A-6

Middle out Approach and Public-Public Partnership: The Pragmatic Way to Invigorate Indian Farming

Sudhan and Prasad LalDivision of Dairy Extension, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, Haryana


It may sound like a cliché but it’s true that Indian farming is at the crossroads and policy makers have to take decision regarding prevailing ‘agrarian crises’ in India. The share of agriculture and allied sectors in India’s GDP has declined to 13.9 percent in 2013-14 from 51.9 percent in 1950-51. Today, India’s primary sector is getting setback in the form of farmers’ apathy/antipathy towards agriculture. As per the 59th Round of NSSO, 40 percent of the farmers wish to quit farming. Centre for studies of developing societies survey revealed that 76 percent of farmers would prefer to do other work while 60 percent wanted their children to migrate to and settle in a city. On an average, that’s about 2,035 farmers losing ‘Main Cultivator’ status every single day from the last 20 years and in a time of jobless growth, they’ve had few places to go beyond the lowest, menial ends of the service sector. One of the main reason behind that problem is that “Normally countries shift from agriculture to industries and then to services, but India shifted directly to services” and that’s why a huge chunks of population is still in agricultural sector instead of industrial sector viz., agro-processing industry, textile industry, food processing industry etc. This situation is called Disguised/Hidden Unemployment. Another problem is lack of coordination among public sector units and it was clearly evident from the statement of Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan when he said “he is helpless about rising prices and his ministry does not have enough powers to control them. This is because “the consumer affairs department does not have any concrete power to check food inflation and department has to ask state governments to take action. So, what is the way forward to solve these crises: the way to combat farmers’ apathy/antipathy towards agriculture and to curb farmers’ suicide is “middle out approach” in which ‘average performing farmers’ are given special attention instead of very small and very big farmers. This is because very small farmers have to be shifted by government in industrial and service sectors in phase wise manner, whereas very big farmers can sustain themselves if government policies are supportive. To curb soaring price rise, controlling the middle-man and to provide fair and remunerative price to the farmers ‘Public-Public synergistic Partnership’ should be build. So, if these steps are taken, these may emerge as ‘wound healing’ process for Indian Agriculture.

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S-II-A-7

Strategies for Empowering and Retaining Youth in Agriculture with Special Reference to North Eastern India

Amol K. Bhalerao A. K. Tripathi, A. K. Singha, Sudipta Paul,Bagish Kumar, P.C. Jat, R. Bordoloi

Scientist, ICAR Complex, Barapani, Megalaya Email: [email protected]

Youth is the most vibrant section of society having enormous potential to trigger social revolutions. Unfocused, unintended and unguided youth activities may result into wastage of demographic dividend and often leads to societal disharmony. Therefore, channelizing potential of youth towards constructive, leadership oriented and nation building activities is very crucial for the national growth at large. In current scenario, involvement of youth in agriculture and allied sector is undoubtedly worth investment. Eventually, it calls for various strategies to empower, attract and retain youth in agriculture. The strategies for empowering youth consists of revamping syllabus in agricultural universities, involvement of youth in most of the practical based agriculture with business outlook, promotion of leadership platforms in agricultural education system, harnessing and rewarding young leaders in agriculture, capacity and character building for agricultural services, inculcating scientific and moral values in agricultural education etc. This dedicated effort will strengthen the young citizens to exercise their power in good manner, to judiciously control the process of directed change as well as to achieve their social, educational and professional goals. They can do it collectively or individually and ultimately it helps to transform their quality of lives positively and significantly. The strategies for retaining youth in agriculture mainly focus on creation of reforms in national agricultural research system based on USDA model. It will advance the job contents and job context of agricultural professionals who are looking for more challenging job. Professional status to agricultural degrees at par with medical and engineering students will end the inferiority complex and retention of talent will be automatically ensured. Creation of regular employment opportunities and promotion of technocracy in agricultural sciences will have long term and strategic retention effect on youth in agriculture. Uniformity in conducting examinations, recognition for merit, transparent selection procedures, researcher friendly transfer / posting norms and training like civil service cadre will hugely attract talent in agriculture sector. Involvement of agricultural professionals in all stages of policy making, budgeting, programme planning, implementation and monitoring is the holistic approach to ensure mainstreaming of talent of north eastern regions’ youth in agriculture.

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S-II-A-8

Employment and Empowerment through Vocational Training

C.K. TimbadiaProgramme co-coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat

E-mail- [email protected]

Vocational trainings are being organized by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari for rural youths and other enthusiastic young farmer’s in order to generate employment through agriculture and allied activities. Since 2006, KVK, Navsari is working in more than 92 villages comprising 400 group leaders. Through these leaders KVK is transferring technologies to more than 70,000 beneficiaries every year. Last Five years vocational trainings and its impact have been studied and the result revealed that, under nursery management six courses had conducted covering 104 beneficiaries’ covering eight villages intensively. Income ranges from Rs. 60,000/- and Rs. 5, 16,000/- from Ornamental Plants and Mango graft & fruit crop sapling production respectively. Likewise different vocational trainings are conducting viz., Vermicomposting, Kitchen Garden, Stitching & Tailoring, Mushroom Cultivation Masala Making and Value Addition. In the course of time, tribal youths and & tribal girls generated employments and empowered financially. This created the interested others to do and practice agriculture and more over this helps in reduction in migration of rural youths towards urban.

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S-II-A-9

Strategies for Prevention of Migration of Youths to Urban Areas, Attracting and Retaining

Vijay Kumar Kurnalliker, S.N. Vasudevan and Maruthi J.BDept. of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Raichur, UAS, Raichur


India is the second most populous country in the world, containing 17.5% of the world’s population with 356 million 10-24 year-olds. India has the world’s largest youth population, has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35.Every third person in an Indian city today is a youth. In about seven years, the median individual in India will be 29 years, very likely a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the world. In India youth unemployment as a percentage of youth population is 10 per cent for males and 11 per cent for females and averaged 15.50 percent. One noticeable issue in the society today is the rate at which youths migrate from the rural to the urban areas. Like a paradox, while the cities (urban areas) are increasing in population, the rural areas are decreasing. The top reasons by youth for moving to urban center including: Lack of basic amenities (such as pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, health facilities, schools and recreational centers), employment and another important reason is that lack of interest in farming because agriculture is suffers from several factors such as natural disasters (drought, storms, etc.), smaller land holdings are also unable to compete against more commercialized agriculture of larger holdings and non-availability of suitable market price for agriculture produce. The future of agriculture will depend on the contribution of young women and men in shaping its direction. Today’s educated youth will continue to select agriculture as a profession only if agriculture becomes both economically rewarding and intellectually satisfying. Hence, agriculture should make as profitable venture. The strategies to make agriculture as profitable venture includes; guide the young farmers to implement integrated farming system, mixed farming system, organic farming and precision farming for better utilization of natural resources and to achieve the sustainable productivity, promotion of the rural youth to venture in to seed production activities as a grower or as a seed production organiser, the rural youth will be motivated by success stories of seed growers and the skill in seed production imparted through training and field demonstrations, develop entrepreneurship among the rural youth by imparting training in agro-based enterprises like, vermicomposting-organic fertilizer production, poultry farming, mushroom farming, bee keeping, livestock feed production, frozen chicken production, piggery and medicinal herbs farming etc., and impart the knowledge on marketing methods for agriculture products and create opportunities to export to abroad, these strategies could help to retain the youths in agriculture. In addition to this provision of social amenities, establishment of industries, educational institutions, corporate branches, and provision of recreation facilities in rural areas could help to check the rate of migration of youth from rural to urban area.

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S-II-A-10

Farming Youth for Transforming India

Shivasharnappa S Patil, Vijay Kumar Kurnalliker, S.R. Doddagoudar and S.N. Vasudevan

Dept. of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Raichur, UAS, Raichur Email: [email protected]

Youth are the present and the future of nation. Attracting and retaining youth in agriculture is critical for Indian Agriculture as India is losing more than 2,000 farmers every single day since 1991, the overall number of farmers has dropped by 15 million. The rural population is about 70%, and the indications are that the migration of rural youth to cities is around 45% in the country, which is quite alarming. This migration also results in loss of traditions, heritage and cultural treasures of India. Many art forms have disappeared and many are on their path to extinction. Over the past few years, rural youth have been shying away from agriculture and globally there is an increasing interest in finding ways of engaging youth in agriculture. Young farmers can play an important role in agriculture sustenance if they are encouraged to involve in farming and the challenges they face are addressed. “Farmers only worry during the growing season, but town’s people worry all the time”. Youth for India is a movement that transforms India’s best young minds into change makers. It provides the socially motivated youth with an opportunity to make a difference where it matters the most. Most of the new innovations (both technical and institutional) require a skilled agricultural work force. For instance, promotion of high value agriculture, precision farming, organic cultivation, Hi-Tech horticulture, micro-propagation, Integrated Pest Disease & Nutrients Management, Post-Harvest Management, development of backward and forward linkages etc., require well trained young farmers with enthusiasm and passion for farming and ability to take risks.

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S-II-A-11

Entrepreneurial Factors and the Development of Entrepreneurship in India

Kundan K. Singh 3/299, Rajnikhand, Shardanagar, Lucknow-226002


An integrated framework is not available for studying the entrepreneurial factors conducive for entrepreneurship despite their importance for the emergence and growth of enterprises in a country. This paper develops such a framework consisting of five dimensions of entrepreneurial environments and links these dimensions to the core elements of the new venire creation process. The arguments developed in this paper suggest that venture creation is influenced by relative impacts of factors as entrepreneurial opportunity, propensity to enterprise and ability to enterprise. Similar relationships exist between environmental factors and performance of an individual entrepreneur and that a match between specific requirements of the entrepreneurs and environmental forces would lead to greater likelihood of business start-up and success. Three (3) hypotheses were made; 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used and evaluated based on the ANOVA statistics. None of the three elements showed significant impact over others in venture creation. This paper suggests that before developing specific entrepreneurial policies and programmes, governments should focus on analysis of the extent of the opportunity, propensity to enterprise, and ability to enterprise which could identify weak areas and then formulate policies and programmes to strengthen the weaker areas. The p-value (0.139) is greater than 0.05 level of significance indicating that the interrelationship among the three elements of venture creation is not significant. The level of significance recorded is 0.872. Evaluated data show that entrepreneurial opportunity is foremost significant element in the likelihood to enterprise, it accounted for 32.4 percent; this is followed by ability to enterprise (32.4%), then propensity to enterprise (31.1%). If people have a high propensity to enterprise but a low ability to enterprise, environmental interventions will need to develop the entrepreneurial and business skills of these people. Conversely, if people have high ability to enterprise but a low propensity to enterprise, environmental interventions needs to be oriented towards making the socioeconomic conditions conductive for entrepreneurship. The greater the importance placed by the society on entrepreneurial orientation, values and behaviour, the more likely that the propensity to enterprise is high. The dimension of the environment that relates to the likelihood to enterprise is the level of entrepreneurial and business skills. It is evident from the data that the probability of entrepreneurial opportunity leading to likelihood to venture creation among other elements is 0.37, propensity to enterprise is 0.31 and ability to enterprise is 0.32.

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S-II-A-12

Strategies for employment generation/Entrepreneurship in Agriculture

AviVirani, DhruvKapadiya, PiyushVagadia, Bharat Chaudhariand VipulKapadiaNavsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat – 396 450


One out of every two people on this planet struggles to feed and educate their children. When powered by opportunity, they have a chance to work their way out of poverty and transform their lives. For 40 years, Opportunity International has provided the savings, loans, training and insurance that all people need to create a better future for their families and their communities. In India, half of the employed work in agriculture. The value added in agriculture –the amount by which the output value exceeds the value of intermediate inputs – it indicates the heath of agricultural economy. In our country the millions trapped in agriculture, the possibilities of escaping poverty depend on the rapid growth of agriculture and the availability of jobs in more productive sectors outside. Such like that,l Trends and impacts of foreign investment in Agriculture.l Value addition in agriculture product. Big farmer or industries invest in food processing unit for

agri. Products.l In agriculture government sector create the more job opportunity for agriculture course related

students in national or state level.l To create the setup of national level exam for agricultural students. Like that Indian Agricultural

service (IAS). l To create more research or training center for development of agriculture.l To give max. Subsidy for agriculture related entrepreneur. E.g. processing unit, seed production

unit, agro center, etc.Investing in agriculture is one of the most effective ways to reduce hunger and poverty,

particularly in rural area. Many countries that have consistently invested in agriculture are on track to achieve the first millennium.

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S-II-A-13

Agripreneurship Development through Institutional Linkages

ShilpaKumariICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012

A shift from agriculture to agribusiness is an essential pathway to revitalize Indian agriculture and to make more attractive and profitable venture. Agripreneurship have the potential to contribute to a range of social and economic development such as employment generation, income generation, poverty reduction and improvements in nutrition, health and overall food security in the national economy. Agripreneurship has potential to generate growth, diversifying income, providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas. Agripreneurship is the need of hours to make agriculture a more attractive and profitable venture. It is clear that there is a great scope for entrepreneurship in agriculture and this potentiality can be tapped only by effective management of agri elements such as – soil, seed, water and market needs. An individual with risk bearing capacity and a quest for latest knowledge in agriculture sector can prove to be a right agripreneurs. The agriculture sector has a large potential to contribute to the national income while at the same time providing direct employment and income to the numerically larger and vulnerable section of the society. Agripreneurship is not only an opportunity but also a necessity for improving the production and profitability in agriculture and allied sector. The traditional approach to rural development was top-down and from below technology has been adopted to gear the entrepreneurship in rural area. Nowadays, Easy access to technology, emergence of micro financing, liberalized government rules, awareness and training programmes on agri and allied sectors and finally changing mindset of the highly qualified people to go for self-employment in the field of agriculture have contributed significantly in enhancing the potentiality for agripreneuership in India. A linkage institution is a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority. These institutions include: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Institute like MANAGE should be supported to evolve as an International Centre for Excellence on Extension Management. MANAGE, with the support of SAMETIs and EEIs should develop an inventory of potential partners who can support extension in various ways at different levels through partnerships and joint initiatives. This information should be shared widely among the different organizations and through web pages. MANAGE should promote extension projects in developing countries as part of larger plan of promoting people to people contacts as per policy framework.

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S-II-A-14

Factors Influencing Entrepreneurship among Farming Community in Bihar

1Neeraj Kumar, 2Nikhil Kumar, 3Amit Kumar and 4Sudhir Kumar1, 2 & 3Research Scholar, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813 210

4Research Scholar, Division of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology NRCPB, IARI, New Delhi-110 012

1Email [email protected]

A farmer to become successful agripreneurs needs to recognize appropriate market opportunities, manage existing resources for taking risk. In general, agripreneurs should be proactive, curious, determined, persistence, visionary, hardworking, honest, integrity with strong management and organizational skills. Agripreneurship is greatly influenced mainly by the economic situation, education and culture. The critical analysis of agripreneurs and traditional farmers in selected districts of Bihar (India), clearly indicates that if the right environment is created and farmers are provided with good infrastructure, technological support, and timely availability of credit it can enhance food production and ensure food security as well as increase in income of the farmers and quality of life. Contrary to common belief, caste, farm size, and age of the farmers are not necessarily major constraints for the success of agripreneurship. Even less educated small farmers of old age can also become an agripreneur provided they are clearly informed about the right type of technologies and knowledge about their use. Hence, technology dissemination system is equally important than technology generation. The farm size per se is not a major constraint. At present, information has become another crucial input like land, labour, and capital for enhancing agricultural production and if right type of information and facilities/services are provided timely certainly a few of the farmers will become agripreneurs.

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S-II-A-15

Middle out Approach and Public-Public Partnership: The Pragmatic Way to Invigorate Indian Farming

Sudhir Kumar1, Sudhanand Prasad Lal2 and Kuleshwar Prasad Sahu3

1Ph.D. Scholar, Division of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, IARI, New Delhi 2Ph.D. Scholar, Division of Plant Pathology, IARI, New Delhi, 3Ph.D. Scholar, Division of Dairy Extension,

ICAR-NDRI, Karnal (Haryana) E-mail: [email protected]

It may sound like a cliché but it’s true that Indian farming is at the crossroads and policy makers have to take decision regarding prevailing ‘agrarian crises’ in India. The share of agriculture and allied sectors in India’s GDP has declined to 13.9per cent in 2013-14 from 51.9 per cent in 1950-51. Today, India’s primary sector is getting setback in the form of farmers’ apathy/antipathy towards agriculture. As per the 59th Round of NSSO (NSSO 2003), 40 per cent of the farmers wish to quit farming. Centre for studies of developing societies (CSDS Lokniti, 2014) survey revealed that 76 per cent of farmers would prefer to do other work while 60 per cent wanted their children to migrate to and settle in a city. On an average, that’s about 2,035 farmers losing ‘Main Cultivator’ status every single day from the last 20 years and in a time of jobless growth, they’ve had few places to go beyond the lowest, menial ends of the service sector. One of the main reason behind that problem is that “Normally countries shift from agriculture to industries and then to services, but India shifted directly to services” and that’s why a huge chunks of population is still in agricultural sector instead of industrial sector viz., agro-processing industry, textile industry, food processing industry etc. This situation is called Disguised/Hidden Unemployment. Another problem is lack of coordination among public sector units and it was clearly evident from the statement of Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan when he said “he is helpless about rising prices and his ministry does not have enough powers to control them. This is because “the consumer affairs department does not have any concrete power to check food inflation and department has to ask state governments to take action. So, what is the way forward to solve these crises: the way to combat farmers’ apathy/antipathy towards agriculture and to curb farmers’ suicide is “middle out approach” in which ‘average performing farmers’ are given special attention instead of very small and very big farmers. This is because very small farmers have to be shifted by government in industrial and service sectors in phase wise manner, whereas very big farmers can sustain themselves if government policies are supportive. To curb soaring price rise, controlling the middle-man and to provide fair and remunerative price to the farmers ‘Public-Public synergistic Partnership’ should be build. So, if these steps are taken, these may emerge as ‘wound healing’ process for Indian Agriculture.

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S-II-A-16

Strategies for Attracting Youth and Retaining Them in Agriculture

Poorva and Harshul KashyapHouse number E-1394, Sukhram Nagar, Field Ganj, Near Jagraon Bridge, Ludhiana, Punjab-141008


Empowering and retaining youth towards agriculture is a challenging task now days. Today’s youth is attracted more towards the tasks involving laptops and internet, comfortable life, good placements and lucrative packages. The strategies to attract youth and retain them in this field should be such that they match their interest and benefit the nation’s economy. Some of them include government projects like DST Sarthi, organisation of camps, seminars, lectures and village trainings as a part of NSS and agriculture course etc. Also, channels like DD Kisan on television and other agriculture related programs on radio are playing a great role. Despite of these, the upcoming ideas include introduction of agriculture as a subject in schools and organisation of yearly agriculture job fairs. For empowerment of youth from rural areas, youth employment programme can be an innovative idea in which, a company can employ the youth and tell him about its requirement of the particular crop which the youth will produce. The youth will get a fixed income from the company every month for the same and when the crop will be harvested, it will be taken and marketed by the company from where, it will earn the profit. For the youth from urban areas, it is necessary for them to know that agriculture except farming also opens entry to many other sectors like food processing, agrochemical industry, sea food culture, seed production, import export etc. About research, major focus should be on research commercialization, which will bring an enthusiasm amongst the students to work harder and will open the doors towards more job opportunities.

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S-II-A-17

Rural Development in India: The Value of Rural Youth Programmes

S. Sowjanya and B.K. ManjunathDepartment of Agricultural Extension, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Dharwad. Karntaka, India

E mail: [email protected]

Youth represent the future and hope of every country. The high returns on resources invested in youth today have both immediate and long term benefits. Rural youth programs play an important role in building life skills of individual young people; strengthening families and communities; and working towards sustainable agricultural and rural development as a major contributor to the overall progress of a country. Many rural youth programs actively promote the application of technology to improve agricultural production on a sustainable basis, and the start-up of agricultural and rural-based non-agricultural income-generating activities. Any attempt to enhance the knowledge, skills and experiences of young people, and increase their access to resources through rural youth programed will have immediate positive impact on rural economies. Youth need to be viewed as resources for development rather than as objects of development. Much of the destructive behavior among youth in many parts of the world today in urban and rural communities alike is caused by low self-esteem. Strong rural youth programs can help bring about the changes that lead young people toward contributing and productive lives. It has been demonstrated over and over again that young people tend to take a special interest in conservation and the management of natural resources. They are more ready to accept and promote sound environmental practices than adults. Youth have demonstrated a readiness and ability to exert a significant influence on society as a whole in this critical area. Rural youth programs can become the catalyst which energizes the process of environmental education in a country leading to practical applications on a large scale, thus contributing to sustainable development. Government officials and policy makers need to consider some of these items as they think about the significant role that rural youth programs can play in their countries.

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S-II-A-18

ICT and Youth in Agriculture: Today and Future Needs for Food Security

R. K. Patel, Lipishmita N. Mishra P. K. Pandey G. S. Gandhianda and B. K. NaikIndira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (C.G.)-492012, India


India is an agricultural country with more than 80% of people directly involved in agriculture to support their livelihood. Agriculture holds substantial promise for economic growth and development in India. Considering the poverty, food security problems and level of youth unemployment due to increase in population; ICT entrepreneurship and innovation development in the agricultural sector and attracting the youth in agriculture play a vital role for resolving of these problems. Earlier Indian youth have long shown a lack of interest in agriculture, but the emerging trend of applying ICT solutions to agriculture, plus the limited availability of livelihood opportunities in other sectors, are attracting an increasing number of youth back to agriculture. In recent times, information technology sector is booming propelled by the rapidly growing usage of mobile phone and internet services. The young people often bring their energy, creativity and tech-savviness to agriculture and are changing its landscape in India. Young farmers and Agripreneurship uses prevalent ICT like mobile phones and text SMS, e-text extension, online TV and videos by you tube, online radio, office software’s, blogs, Facebook, twitter, what’s app and other social media; GPS and GIS based precision agriculture and climate smart farming etc. It is essential to nurture a generation of young agriculturalists fully prepared to take advantage of ICT innovations in their professional career after graduation. There is a need to strengthen ICT use in agriculture by public and private institutions through awareness creation and capacity building. This involves improving equipment in ways that enhance work environments and make them more conducive to innovations by youth in agricultural professions. Facilitating cheaper and more reliable access to ICT devices and connectivity is needed to accelerate ICT adoption among youth in agriculture, especially young farmers and Agripreneurship. It needs to be further promoted in all states of the country and needs multi-stakeholder support to capacity building and strengthen its profitability and effectiveness.

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S-II-A-19


Preeti BajpaiSenior Research Fellow, Centre of Excellence on Maize Processing & Value Addition

College of Dairy & Food Science Technology, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan


Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013,[2] about 50% of the workforce.[3][4] The economic contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP is steadily declining with the country’s broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. Even though there is decline in participation of youth in farming activities, at current growth rate of rural non-farm sector and manufacturing sector, the chances of absorption of rural workforce seems to be sluggish in future. India is losing more than 2,000 farmers every single day and that since 1991; the overall number of farmers has dropped by 15 million. The NSSO Survey (2005) showed that more than 40 per cent of farmers expressed their bitterness with their occupation saying that if given a chance they would like to quit farming. The reasons attributed include new economic policies and also increase in rural non-farm employment opportunities. Thus, dependence upon a considerable section of rural youth is pertinent for farming. But the farming patterns are not likely to be the same as earlier. In this scenario, it is important for us to understand that in the next 40 years the World’s population will increase from seven billion to over ten billion. At the same time, agriculture is an ageing and under-valued profession for which there is a declining interest among youth. Retaining youth in agriculture pose to be the biggest challenge. Unless farming becomes both intellectually stimulating and economically rewarding, it will be difficult to attract or retain rural youth in farming (Swaminathan 2001). Nearly 70% of India’s population is below the age of 35 years, making India the youngest nation in the world and interestingly 70% of them live in rural areas. According to 2011 Census, the youth population in the country including adolescent youth is around 550 million. In 2020, the average Indian age will be only 29-year-old, whereas in China and the United States of America the average age is estimated to be 37 years. We may utilize this demographic dividend for taking Indian agriculture to a new height by channelizing the creative energies of the youth through development of skills, knowledge and attitudes.

Availability of low interest loans, venture capital funds, allotment of wasteland for setting up Agri-clinics and Agri-business Centres and facilities for establishing agri pathshala or Village Knowledge Centres. Self Help Groups of Farm graduates including women and men could be formed to avail of the new credit facility for SHGs and for undertaking a variety of market driven enterprises such as

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production of organic foods, bio-fuels, bamboo cultivation, etc. Groups of Farm Graduates can also be encouraged to form Producer Companies for undertaking the production of good quality seeds, agro processing, marketing, etc. They should be trained in Contract Farming methodology by the trained agri students & scientist, which benefits both the producer and the purchaser. Government may also consider providing land in State Farms for organizing seed production, livestock breeding, etc. Availability of labour, supply of power and water is one of the major problems of the agriculturists proper support should be given by the government by creating self-help groups and through other means so that they can carry on their activities smoothly Effective platform for direct selling of the product should be developed to ensure better price for crops, and to save considerable amount of profits mostly eaten by the middle men and other intermediaries who operate in the chain. Establishment of youth advisory committees’ establishment of youth priorities for local government, Promote youth involvement in community decision may help in retaining youth in our Gaon.

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ABSTRACTSTechnical Session-III

Techno-Administrative Reforms in Agriculture (Indian Agriculture Service)

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S-III-A-1

Need of Real Importance on Agriculture and Need of Bringing Agriculture under the 3rd List of the 7th

Schedule of the Article 246 (Part XI) of the Constitution of India

Prafulla Kumar MandalEx-Addl. Director of Agriculture, Govt. of West Bengal, Midnapore,West Bengal, 721102


Agriculture is the mainstay of the India over generations of the citizens. Agriculture had been the noblest, prestigious profession of the Indian peasantry than any other. It is considered as the pivotal profession over all others, since only through this the substances of maintenance of lives are possible. The peasantry force that constitutes above 75% of the population, produced agricultural commodities, that brought Green Revolution to feed and to serve self and in other sectors to the citizens. But in the recent trend, the encroachment of heavy industrial profession is alluring the youths of the farming families. They are moving out from their paternal profession being misled, that consequences decrease of the numbers of farmers. Youths of the farming families are considering that the non-farming professions are lucrative than that of their parental. If number of tillers is decreased, then reasonable question rests who will produce agricultural commodities? No doubt, this will inflict adverse and negative affect on the production of the agricultural commodities that reminds the past days of food crisis and compulsion to enter in to PL 480 agreement with America. Lot of agricultural technologists are coming from the Central/State Agricultural Universities. Lot of advanced innovations/ technologies are being innovated through agricultural research form there as well as research stations, centres institutions under the apex Agricultural Research authority Indian Council of Agricultural Research etc. But it cannot be denied that many of these are not being disseminated among the youths of the farming families and not being implemented in the fields. These should be done through Governmental policy, impetus to the youths and acknowledgement of their contributions with position and Honour in the society so that; they do not leave their family profession. More and more number of Land Users groups and new venture by augmenting “Agricultural Service Groups” with them should be formed with provision of impetus and resource. Hence, care and caution are necessary to reverse the trend that, the youth are engaged with prestige, position, due remuneration in agricultural profession/sector not by lectures but in reality. Existing schemes/programmes of the State and central Govt. should made free of bureaucratic manoeuvre that hurdle the smooth materialization in one side and in other side the beneficiaries should utilize those for the purpose for which these are extended and a honest sincere vigilance should be done by machinery constituted with Govt. officers and representatives of the beneficiaries.

Presently,” Agriculture, including Agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases” are in Sl. No. 14 of the 2nd list of 7th schedule in the Article 246

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under Part XI of the Constitution of India. It is under State list. Constitutionally, the Sate govt. is responsible and answerable. This gives a plea and scope to the Central Govt. to be escaped of the responsibility and answering. Also, the Central Govt. has to look after inter-state interests and aspects of Agriculture related to inputs of Agriculture. The Central Govt. has to be the party to the International , Bi-lateral, Pluri-lateral, Multi-lateral Agreements, Treaties, Intellectual Properties, Rounds, Summits, Convention, Protocol Memorandum of Understanding, Import & Export, Plant & Animal(domestic) quarantine and many other implications on Agriculture. Similarly, the Central Govt. is to respond and answer to the International Community, FAO & UN and others. Land/Soil is the foundation and entire agriculture is the superstructure over it. Thus its spread extends not only interstate but over the world. Under the above backing, Agriculture including soil and water conservation , is felt, should be included in the Concurrent subject/list i.e. 3rd list in 7th Schedule of Article 246 of the Constitution of India. By such inclusion, both the Central and State Govts shall be in convenient position to serve the inhabitants /citizens of India. This will mandate, both the Govts. to take steps, create policies to protect and promote the interests of the farming families and the youth force of the farming families to attract and retain engaged in agriculture. These are elaborated in the article of this title. This is not easy task. Many negative and positive, rather more negative arguments will come to this move, because, though agricultural force is very much more in number, but un-organized and economically weak. On the other hand who are less in number for the negative opinion are influential, rich and forceful. Still the peasantry is in need to raise voice on the urgent need of Constitutional amendment that the Agriculture as a whole should be brought in the 3rd list in 7th Schedule of Article 246 of the part XI of the Constitution of India.

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S-III-A-2

Indian Agriculture at a Transition State

K. Prasad1, Nirmal Kumar1 and Murli Manohar2

1Division of Food Science & Postharvest Technology; 2Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012


Indian agriculture is going through a tough ask. Though India is meeting the demand of food grains and horticulture production but on the same time aspect of efficient technology transfer, upgrading knowledge of farmers through trainings, reducing postharvest loss, quality of agricultural and horticultural produce, were key concerns and always considered as a challenge. Our researchers are involved in continuous innovation but on the same time educating farmers and young students simultaneously with the updated and efficient technologies in an effective manner is essential to make the agriculture enterprise a profitable one. Initiations like ARYA (Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture) are required to encourage entrepreneurs, skilled students and farmers to implement those technologies evolved by our scientists in an efficient manner. Success of programmes like ARYA to attract and retain youth in agriculture are very much important, as along with scientific community role of youth , skilled students and women in agriculture development is equally important. Agriculture is a field which requires a holistic approach and combined efforts for the better quality, quantity and livelihood of the involved personals of this field. Proper attention by the government and society to all the involved components leads to the efficient agriculture system in present and for the future. Students associations like All India Agricultural Students Association (AIASA) are serving as a new hope for agriculture students in recent years and can be considered as a ray of hope for the encouraged participation of youth towards betterment of Indian agriculture.

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S-III-A-3

ARYA through Techno-Administrative Reforms and Agripreneurship

Sudhir Kumar, Rakesh Kumar Prajapat, Deepak Vishwanath PawarPh.D. Scholar, NRCPB, IARI, New Delhi


Agriculture is no more profitable for the farmers in general. Today more than 2000 farmers are leaving agriculture per day. If attention is not given, the days are not far away when there will be no enough human resource to take care of the farm fields. It’s the high time to think upon how to attract and retain the youth in agriculture. How to make agriculture more lucrative and prosperous? Techno-administrative reforms in agriculture are much required to appoint right person at the right place. Large population of India is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. But Indian agriculture is low productive with large number of disguised unemployed manpower. Present paper is an attempt to highlight the importance of administrative reforms, skill development in developing entrepreneurship in the area of agriculture, to make agriculture profitable to the farmers. With employment of more than 50% of labour force, agriculture sector is major employment provider even today. Large numbers of persons employed in agriculture are of disguised nature and their marginal productivity is zero. Disguised nature of agriculture forced the people to migrate from rural to urban areas creating pressure on cities. Agripreneurship is solution to many problems like urbanization, poverty, unemployment, rural development etc. But development of entrepreneurship in the areas of agriculture requires special skills like capacity building, knowledge of global agriculture market etc.The need of the hour is to create a sustainable industry aligned eco system for robust skill & entrepreneurship development in agriculture & allied sector. The sustainable development is only possible by achieving rapid growth in the agriculture sector through intensive skill development enhancing the economic value of time and labour of landless workforce, making farmers of the country agriculture entrepreneurs through market information and linking the farm labour with wage related employment in agriculture sector during non-farming months.Agriculture training institutes can be set up all over the country, in the PPP mode wherever possible, to empower persons dependent on agriculture. The agricultural research institutes shall consider broad basing their curricula, and companies with a rural footprint can organize training programmes in partnership with the panchayats. Government should provide legal right to skill development to empower youth and state government must work in coordination with private and public sector for training youth.This situation can be changed by generating employment opportunities for them in rural areas itself. Skill development for agro entrepreneurship can be used as best medicine for the solution of this problem. Techno-administrative reforms in the form of a separate cadre in agriculture on the pattern of USDA will ensure right person at the right place to render their services in the best possible way.Agripreneurship is important for HRD and enlarging the number of enterprises. It is

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suggested that agro-based entrepreneurship mission through skill development and the agro-based entrepreneurship education should go hand in hand as mass employment generation is possible with agri-based industrialization only. Techno-administrative reforms in agriculture are much required to appoint right person at the right place. Need is to make agriculture more lucrative, professional and attractive to attract and retain the youths in this noble profession and to bring a smile on the face of our farmers, the god of food.

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ABSTRACTSTechnical Session-IV

Innovations in Agricultural Research and Education for Agripreneurship Development

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S-IV-A-1

Revisiting Agricultural Education in India to Attract Youth in Agriculture: Learning’s from Vivekananda Philosophy

Girijesh Singh Mahra and J.P. Sharma Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi


India is land of youth and entering in phase of demographic dividend. Presently, India has more than 50 per cent of its population within the age group of 15 to 59 and 28 per cent of population in age group of 15-29. Furthermore, by 2020, more than 65 per cent of Indian population will be under working age group. Manpower availability in agricultural sector indicated that more than 30,000 agricultural graduates pass out all over the country every year, of which only few thousand find job in private and public sector, leaving a huge number of graduate’s unemployed with high skill gap. This agricultural demographic dividend may become an asset as well as liability for Indian agriculture, depending upon the extent of skill development among agricultural students. One of the ways to attract and generate required skills among youth in agriculture is improving quality of agricultural education which in turn will improve the employability of youth in public as well as private sector. This paper aims to connect Swami Vivekananda philosophy of education with agricultural education system in India and to generate innovative ways to make present agricultural education system more attractive for youth of India. This paper also outlines the factors responsible for making agriculture as low priority career option by Indian youth and also suggest the way out based on Vivekananda work.

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S-IV-A-2

Educated Unemployed Rural Youth- Need for Sustainable Agriculture

Kumar Sambhav Giri, Taspas Ranjan Das and Aurobindo MohantaInstitute of Agricultural Sciences, Siksha”O” Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar

Youth is the age of discovery and dreams. India is of largest youth population in the world today. India has 50% of its population below 25 years, 65% below 35 years and by 2020 it is predicted that an average Indian will be 29 years old, while for China and Japan it will be 37 and 48 years respectively. Unemployment of rural educated youth are alarmingly increasing as most of them are diverting their mind from agriculture to low paid service sector. A recent review in a popular daily newspaper indicated that 23lakh candidates applied for a 368 peon posts in UP. Among the applicants 250 are doctorates, 25000 post graduates, 1.5 lakh graduates, 7.5 lakh higher secondary school pass out and 11.2 lakh class 10 or equivalent pass outs. Agriculture is an important part of India’s economy and at present it is among the top two farm producers in the world. This sector provides approximately 52 per cent of the total number of jobs available in India. Just after independence agriculture sector was contributing 40percent to GDP but now it is fluctuating in between 13-15 per cent. The UN World Health Organization predicts that “by 2030, 6 out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to 7 out of 10 people” meaning that more young people than ever before are moving to cities and towns to find work, leaving few behind to work in rural areas. it indicates the rapid urbanization and migration of rural youth towards urban territory leaving the novel agricultural profession. Yields in India, the second biggest producer of rice and wheat, will fall by 30% by the end of this decade. Top producers of four crops — wheat, rice, soy and maize — will be hardest hit. The report also projects a mismatch in global production and consumption in the coming years. There will be a 14% deficit between demand and supply of wheat, 11% deficit in rice, and 9% deficit in maize or corn. Only soybean will be a winner, with a 5% surplus. The report comes at a time when the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) projects that India will require its agricultural output to grow if it is to meet the demands of the next decade. There has to be a growth of 30% in rice and cereal production, 140% in pulses and 243% in oilseeds to feed a burgeoning Indian population in the next 10 years. Dr Swapan K. Dutta, Deputy Director General (crops), ICAR in the India International Crop Summit, held in Bhubaneswar on January 10-11, 2011, has said that “India needs to prepare itself in advance as acute food grain scarcity is likely by 2020.” On the other hand increase in food grain production faces big challenges as the increase in global temperature, uncertain climate condition, reduction in cultivable land due to urbanization, depletion in soil fertility level ,reduction in water and nutrient holding capacity of soil, outbreak of many new destructive disease and pest etc. It has been predicted that world in general and India in particular shall face acute food crisis between 2030-2050 if the present food grain growth rate continue. Therefore, there is need to adopt hi-tech agriculture and one of the policy should be to motivate the educated rural youth to agriculture as they are the most capable persons to adopt hi-tech and sustainable agriculture.

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S-IV-A-3

Who Wants to Make Career in Agriculture? Farmers or Aspirant Students

Sanjay GoyalCoordinator, Academy of Multi Skill, Gwalior M.P

Indian Agriculture Education is an isolated field which does not attract youngsters to make their career in this domain. This low profit field does not attract to the farmers even and their families to stay in to this ‘dead’ business. The agriculture system under the governing body like Indian Council of Agriculture Research failed to achieve tangible results in various allied sciences after green revolution. Mass media always crying for our farmer wellbeing. But they failed to do survey on the present status of Agriculture Education System and related institutions in this country. Leading Magazines doing survey for be st top institutes in the field of Commerce, Engineering, Arts, Science, Medicine and Management but could not put thought to focus on this neglected domain. Every developing country, Agriculture has been proved a backbone of economy and livelihood of the people. The machineries in government are still unskilled, unprofessional and least knowledgeable of this subject. The bad consequences which are great in terms of pesticide residues, adulterated foods, food insecurity, high post-harvest losses, environment risks, mismatching of cropping pattern, poor agriculture extension, poor agribusiness activity, less infrastructure in biotechnology and no transformation in agriculture education.

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S-IV-A-4

Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Directory

A. Thanga HemavathyAssistant Professor (PB&G), AICORP on Pigeonpea, Department of Pulses,

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 041 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Women play a critical role in agricultural growth in developing countries, yet they face persistent obstacles and economic constraints. The women are the backbone of agricultural workforce but worldwide her hard work has mostly been unpaid. She does the most tedious and back-breaking tasks in agriculture, animal husbandry and homes. We already know that if women had equal access to productive resources, they could increase their yields and feed more hungry people in the world. And women are more likely to reinvest their income back into their families to improve education, nutrition and health. When women flourish, families and communities do too. The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (or WEAI) is the first-ever measure to directly capture women’s empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector this could measures the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agriculture sector in an effort to identify ways to overcome those obstacles and constraints. The WEAI focuses on five areas: decisions over agricultural production, power over productive resources such as land and livestock, decisions over income, leadership in the community, and time use. Women are considered to be empowered if they have adequate achievements in four of the five areas. The Index also takes into consideration the empowerment of women compared with men in the same household, based on asking women and men the same survey questions.Unde.r WEAI several Projects were initiated on nearly all aspects of role of women in agriculture, they are

l Development and testing of extension methods for farm women in Eastern India

l Standardization of women specific field practices in rice in Orissa

l Occupational health hazards of farm women in coastal Orissa

l Identification and evaluation of interactive learning modules for dissemination of homestead technologies

l Improvement in storage practices of seeds and grains of important crops with women perspective

l Reducing drudgery of women in agricultural operations through use of improved techniques

l Management of coastal agro-eco system affected by super cyclone in Orissa

l Empowerment of women in agriculture

l Involving women in aquaculture is a step towards ensuring economic and nutritional security

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This empowerment process through educational interventions, Transfer of technologies, the feasibility trials and the out -reach programmes has contributed to significant gain in knowledge, adoption of women-friendly technologies for improving work efficiency, acceptance of technology for economic gain and improving various parameters of quality of life are the reflections of women’s environment.

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Activities of AIASA at Different Universities

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AIASA Annual Function 2014

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AIASA Cabinet-2015

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AIASA Launched Website

Awareness Program organized at CIFE Mumbai

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Interactive session on Career Opportunities & Agriculture Administrative Reforms in India

At RVSKVV, Gwalior (MP)

As a part of ‘Empowering Youth in Agriculture Programme’ a guest lecture and interactive session on “Career opportunities and agriculture administrative reforms in India and role of AIASA” was organized on 18th August, 2015 at RVSKVV Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. Dr.Sahadeva Singh (Chief Policy Advisor, AIASA, Former Deputy Commissioner & Head Policy, Planning Commission, Govt. of India & presently senior consultant)and Mr.Sudhir Kumar (National President, AIASA) was the guest of honour and speaker. Mr.Kundan Singh, Deputy Chairman, AIASA and Dr. B.S. Baghel, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, RVSKVV, were also present on this occasion. The program was presided over by Dr. A.K. Singh (Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, RVSKVV Gwalior, MP). Dr. S.S. Tomar (Dean, CoA, and Gwalior) graced the occasion. Mr.Jaideep Singh (University president), College president, Secreatry and all the cabinet members of AIASA, Gwalior were also present on this occasion. The programme started with lighting of lamps by the Guest of honour and chief guests. The SaraswatiVandana was presented by the girls of College of Agriculture, Gwalior. Then a guest lecture on “Career opportunities and agriculture administrative reforms in India and role of AIASA” was jointly delivered by Dr.Sahadeva Singhand Mr.Sudhir Kumar. The lecture was very informative, elaborative and covered all the issues of agriculture administrative reforms which was very well appreciated by all the participants. Dr. S.S. Tomar, Dr. B.S. Baghel and Dr. A.K. Singh (Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, RVSKVV Gwalior, MP) appreciated the AIASA team for organizing such a useful session for the staff and students. They also advocated the need of such programmes in near future for the benefit of agricos on their remarks. All the Directors, Head of Departments, Faculty members, Professors/Scientists, farmers and students actively participated in the programme. The guest lecture was followed by an interactive session in which many Professors/Students had an interaction with the speakers. The programme ended with the vote of thanks.

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Guest Lecture at IGKV, Raipur (C.G.) on Career Opportunities & Agriculture Administrative

Reforms in India and Role of AIASA

A guest lecture and interactive session on “Career opportunities and agriculture administrative reforms in India and role of AIASA” was organized by AIASA in collaboration with IGKV, Raipur on 20th August, 2015 at IGKV, Raipur, Chhattisgarh On the request of students of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalay, Raipur C.G. Dr.Sahadeva Singh (Chief Policy Advisor, AIASA, Former Deputy Commissioner & Head Policy, Planning Commission, Govt. of India & presently senior consultant), Mr.Kundan Singh, Deputy Chairman, AIASAand Mr. Ajay Kumar Verma (Vice-President AIASA)CZ were the guest of honour. The program was presided over by Dr. S.K. Patil (Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, IGKV, Raipur). Dr. S.S. Rao (Dean Faculty of Agriculture, IGKV Raipur), Dr. S.S. Sengar (Dean Student Welfare) graced the occasion.Mr.ParmeshwarSahu (State President, AIASA CG), Mr. Ajay Tiwari (Programme Coordinator), Mr.Satyapal Singh (Cabinet member CG)and Mr.PremshankarTiwari (University President) were also present on this occasion. The programme started with lighting of lamps by the Guest of honour and chief guests. Welcome speech & introductory remarks was delivered by Mr.ParmeshwarSahu (State President, AIASA CG). Dr.Sahadev Singh (Chief Speaker) gave detailed information about career opportunities in Agriculture and administrative reforms which included establishment of ACI (Agriculture Council of India) in the pattern of VCI & MCI, Granting license of Agri-clinics to Agriculture graduates only, Creation of separate cadre of Indian Agricultural Services (IAS) as recommended by several government appointed committees since 1957, Parity of ICAR fellowship with other funding agencies like UGC, ICMR, DST & DBT, Granting professional status to Agriculture at par with Medical & Engineering etc. Dr. S. K. Patil (Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, IGKV, Raipur) delivered the remarks and appreciated the AIASA team for organizing such a useful session for the staff and students. He also agreed with the issues raised by AIASA and felt that there is an urgent need to resolve the issues for the welfare of Agriculture. He advocated that every agricos must be member of AIASA to make it stronger. Dr. S.S. Rao on his remarks emphasized the need of such programmes at regular interval to make the peoples aware about their issues. All the Directors, Head of Departments, Faculty members, Professors/Scientists, farmers and students actively participated in the programme. The guest lecture was followed by an interactive session in which many Professors/Students had an interaction with the speakers. The programme ended with the vote of thanks. The programme was widely covered by Print Media and got wide coverage on newspapers.

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Interactive session on Career Opportunities & Agriculture Administrative

Reforms in India and Role of AIASA

At JNKVV, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)

A guest lecture and interactive session on “Career opportunities and agriculture administrative reforms in India and role of AIASA” was organized by AIASA, Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with JNKVV, Jabalpur on 19th August, 2015 at JNKVV Jabalpur. Dr.Sahadeva Singh (Chief Policy Advisor, AIASA& Head Policy, Planning Commission, Govt. of India & presently senior consultant)and Mr.Sudhir Kumar (National President, AIASA) was the guest of honour and speaker. Mr.Kundan Singh, Deputy Chairman, AIASA was also present on this occasion. The program was presided over by Dr. S.K. Rao (Dean Faculty of Agriculture, JNKVV Jabalpur MP). Dr. (Mrs.) Om Gupta (Dean, CoA, Jabalpur& Organizing Secretary of the session) graced the occasion. A guest lecture on “Career opportunities and agriculture administrative reforms in India and role of AIASA” was jointly delivered by Dr.Sahadeva Singh and Mr.Sudhir Kumar. The lecture was very informative, elaborative and covered all the issues of agriculture administrative reforms which were very well appreciated by all the participants. The lecture was mainly focused on career opportunities in Agriculture and administrative reforms which included establishment of ACI (Agriculture Council of India) in the pattern of VCI & MCI, Granting license of Agri-clinics to Agriculture graduates only, Creation of separate cadre of Indian Agricultural Services (IAS) as recommended by several government appointed committees since 1957, Parity of ICAR fellowship with other funding agencies like UGC, ICMR, DST & DBT, Granting professional status to Agriculture at par with Medical & Engineering etc. Dr. (Mrs.) Om Gupta (Dean, CoA, Jabalpur & Organizing Secretary delivered the remarks and appreciated the AIASA team for organizing such a useful session for the staff and students. She also advocated the need of such programmes in near future for the benefit of agricos. Dr. S.K. Rao (Dean Faculty of Agriculture, JNKVV Jabalpur MP) on his remarks emphasized the need of quality education and said that the education should be of a kind which can generate employments to the youths. All the Directors, Head of Departments, Faculty members, Professors/Scientists, farmers and students actively participated in the programme.

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Central Herbal Agro Marketing Federation “CHAMF India” (Registration Number – C.G 354 & Registration Date – 04.05.2006) is recognized by Ministry of Agriculture Govt. Of India, a National Organization of Organic Farmers Association with 22000 organic farmer group presence in 19 states, India’s largest organization in organic herbal marketing, to assist in Processing, Packaging & Marketing of raw herbs and finished Products and also help to provide Global Market.

India’s largest “Certified Organic” farmers group mainly engaged in Farming, Processing, training, packaging & Marketing of Certified Organic Herbal, Medicinal, Aromatic Plants, Species, Essential Oils & Cereals, and provide A-Z training (farming to harvesting).

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MDHP is the India’s First “Certified Organic” producer mainly engaged in Farming, Processing & Marketing of Certified Organic Herbal, Medicinal, Aromatic Plants, Species, Essential Oils & Cereals, and provides world best approved varieties of cloned plants and there processed products.

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At present we have more than 90 organic herbal raw & processed products are certified by Bureau Veritas, GMP, IAFOM & an ISO: 22000-2005, HACCP Company.

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Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) · 2016-03-31 · Attracting and Retaining...

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Transcript of Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) · 2016-03-31 · Attracting and Retaining...