Nauni varsity VC nominated as member of National Advisory Committee for Natural Farming promotion 

Professor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, Vice-Chancellor of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni has been nominated as a member of the Advisory Committee for promotion of Natural Farming (ACPNF) by the INM division of the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The committee will advise and guide in the smooth rollout and promotion of Natural farming in the country. The tenure of the ACPNF will be for a period of two years.

Additional Secretary (INM), Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA & FW) will be chairman of the 14-member committee. Prof Rajeshwar Chandel along with Dr. SK Chaudhary, DDG NRM ICAR; Dr. Neelam Patel, Advisor Agriculture NITI Aayog; Joint Secretary, NRLM; Joint Secretary (INM) along with eminent names from the country will be the members of the committee. The committee will advise and support the Steering Committee, headed by the Union Agriculture Minister for rolling out Natural Farming in the country. It will also guide in the overall promotion of Natural Farming in the country with an initial focus on the 5 km corridor of the Ganga basin. 

Professor Chandel was also recently nominated as a member of the Governing Body and General Body of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) Society for a term of three years. The Governing Body is the chief executive and decision-making authority of the ICAR. It is headed by the ICAR Director-General. It consists of eminent agricultural scientists, educationists, legislators and representatives of the farmers. 

A noted entomologist, Prof Chandel has over 25 years of experience in education and research. Professor Chandel started his career as a Research Fellow and later joined UHF as an Assistant Scientist. He has also served as Joint Director of Research, Senior Scientist, Entomology and Principal Residue Analyst at the university. He has done extensive research on apple pollination in dry areas, herbal honey production, increase in production of pistachios and many other fields. Before joining as the Vice-Chancellor of UHF Nauni, Professor Chandel also served as the Executive Director of the Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) where he was instrumental in popularizing the natural farming movement in the state. Due to his efforts, the Himachal model of natural farming has also been appreciated on different platforms by the Prime Minister of the country.

Professor Chandel thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and ICAR for giving him this opportunity to contribute to the promotion of natural farming in the country. The staff and students of the university congratulated Prof. Chandel on the occasion.