"Indian society and agriculture are inextricably linked since agriculture employs more than 26 crore people." Unfortunately, roughly 30% of students who graduate from agricultural institutions choose to work in different fields other than agriculture.
This has had a negative impact on the agriculture industry," said Ashok Dalwai, Chief Executive Officer of the Government of India's National Rain-fed Area Authority.
He was speaking to a gathering after initiating a national conference on "National Education Policy-2020 for Comprehensive Agricultural Education: Initiatives, Challenges, and the Way Forward," which was held on Tuesday at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Raichur.
Dr. Dalwai encouraged colleges to nurture visionary students, saying that students should support the agricultural industry by interacting with agriculturists and urging that they embrace new technology and approaches to make agriculture a viable sector. "By addressing its flaws, the agriculture industry can reform itself and develop the strength to confront new challenges," he continued.
Despite all difficulties, the agriculture sector is becoming a Vishwa Guru by implementing new education methods and policies, he added. "As a result, the importance of agriculture should be emphasized to students from young age, guaranteeing that the education system shifts from a teacher-centric to a student-centric one," Dr. Dalwai explained.
K.N. Kattimani, Vice-Chancellor of UAS Raichur, said that discussions at this national conference will enable agricultural education to bring about improvements since UAS Raichur has been aiming to provide a complete agricultural education.
Retired Vice-Chancellor I.V. Benagi was in attendance, as were UAS administrative members Kotreppa Korer and Sunil Kumar Verma, S. Prabhu Kumar, D.M. Chandaragi, B.K. Desai, Satyanarayana Rao, Bheemanna and Channabasavanna, and others.
