SASRD, NU celebrates Agriculture Education Day
Dimapur, December 6 (MExN): School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development (SASRD), Nagaland University (NU), Medziphema Campus, under the initiative of Dean, SASRD, NU, Prof Akali Sema, conducted an online programme to celebrate Agriculture Education Day, under the theme ‘Agriculture Profession- Never out of Fashion’, where eminent personalities from Agricultural background were invited to inspire and motivate the participants, which mostly consisted of students and young people.
345 participants registered and 270 participated in the online celebration on December 3, the School informed in a press statement.
The programme was chaired by Dean, SASRD, Prof Akali Sema, who also gave an opening remark, in which she briefed about the significance of the day and also made shared the importance and the various prospects of Agriculture education in the country and across the globe. This was followed by a welcome address by Prof Aleminla Ao, Pro Vice Chancellor, NU: SASRD.
A technical session was held during which Dr Tej Pratap, Vice- Chancellor, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand spoke about the mission of Agriculture Education way back in the year 1952 when it first started to meet the food security of the country. But over the years, the prospect it offers has been broadened, he added.
Today, the basic mission of Agriculture Education is not just to meet the food security but to make an individual capable of creating jobs and alleviate poverty, skill development and create a mindset of entrepreneurship among the young people, he said.
Dr Bidyut Chandan Deka, Vice Chancellor, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, emphasized on why Agriculture has to stay in North East Region more than a hundred years, as the economy of the region is solely dependent on agriculture.
It was also mentioned that globally, contribution of Agriculture in GDP is roughly 14%, while in NER its 16-20% and > 20% in Nagaland. He further encouraged the youth to stress on the inclusion of agriculture as a core subject in the entire northeast region, as education is the best approach towards achieving any goal.
Dr Manoj Kumar, Executive Director, ICCOA, Bengaluru discussed on Organic Agribusiness- a Microsoft of the future.
He also emphasized on Organic agriculture as one of the best option to consume healthy food and also sustain the economy and environment health which is a major concern today.
After the technical session, a short interaction was conducted where in all the queries and discussions were made. This was followed by declaration of result for an essay competition that was organized by SASRD, NU, for students of class 9-12, in commemoration of Agriculture Education Day.
Prof KK Jha, HoD, Department of Agricultural Extension, SASRD, NU declared the winners for the competition. The first place was bagged by Adithi Dev(Class -12, Livingstone Foundation Higher Secondary School, Dimapur), followed by Margaret (Class-9, Mezhür Higher Secondary School, Kohima), who bagged the second place and Aina Dev (Class-10, Delhi Public School, Kolkata) secured the third place. The vote of thanks was proposed by Chumbenthung Patton, President, SU: SASRD, Medziphema campus.
