Entrepreneurship opportunities in agri sector growing

A one-day Agri-Fest 2023, to attract young school students towards choosing agriculture as a potential career option, was held today at Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. Over 600 school students from 18 schools from Solan and nearby areas, undergraduate agri-graduates from Nauni and Shoolini University and scientists were among the over 900 participants who took part in the fest. The event was held in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP).

C Paulrasu, Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture, Himachal Pradesh was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Addressing the gathering virtually he said, “Agriculture contributes over 18 percent to India’s economy and in a hill state like Himachal this sector not only provides employment to a large population but also contributes significantly to the economic and ecological well-being of the mountain people.”

He stressed that our youngsters must also look towards making agriculture as their primary profession because providing healthy food to the ever-growing population necessitates the development of efficient food production, processing and consumption systems for which efficient human resource is required. He also lauded the initiative of the university and ICAR NAHEP for creating awareness about different activities and job opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel congratulated the students for displaying their ingenuity through the various models displayed during the event. He said that the students must now think of taking their models to the next level through the growing startup culture in the country and convert their novel ideas into successful business ventures. Talking about the field of agriculture, Prof. Chandel said that the sector has expanded and is offering a diverse range of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for agriculture professionals. He also advised the students to focus on learning life skills along with excelling in academic activities.

Earlier, Dr Sudhir Kumar Sharma, Associate Vice President Kuantum Papers shared the different opportunities offered by the agriculture and forestry sectors to the students. Dr. CL Thakur, Dean College of Forestry welcomed the participants and informed about the objective behind the programme while Dr. Manish Sharma, Dean College of Horticulture gave a presentation on the different activities of the university in academics, research and extension along with the career prospects in different courses.

Dr. SK Bhardwaj, coordinator of the programme informed that the AgriFest 2023 was organised with the aim to create awareness of the achievements of Indian agriculture in attaining self-sufficiency and becoming a leader in the production of many agricultural commodities and attract the best talent to the agriculture sector to meet ever-increasing quality manpower requirements.

The festival was structured around creating awareness through key lectures of eminent scientists, field visits and interaction with scientists to expose them to various farming models and advances in agriculture education along with experience sharing by agriculture industrialists. Exhibitions from different university departments, self-help groups and farmer producer companies were also held. Demonstration on the usage of drones in agriculture was particularly liked by the students.

A model competition for school children on the theme ‘Indian Agriculture- Journey from shortage to surplus’ was organised in which the students displayed their novel ideas. The model on mixed farming by Government Middle School, Kalaghat bagged the first prize in the competition. The second prize was bagged by Geeta Adarsh Vidyalaya, Solan for their model on Technological Innovation for Ecosystem and Health while Government Senior Secondary School, Bojhanji bagged the third prize. BL Central School, Solan and Government High School, Dharja bagged the consolation prizes. The festival concluded with a cultural programme by the university students in the Open Air Theatre.