The three-day visit of the 20th Research Advisory Committee concluded today at the Hill and Plateau Research Center on Agricultural Systems of the Eastern Research Complex of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Ranchi from May 6 to 8, 2024. The chairman of this committee, Dr. K. D. Kokate, Ex-Director General, ICAR. Other members are Dr. Masood Ali, Dr. K. N. Tatwari and Dr. Marvendra Kumar in the presence of Dr. Rajbir Singh, Assistant Director General, ICAR, New Delhi, in a meeting on 7th May at the Research Center of the Institute, Ranchi, to review the projects and research of the Institute. The activities were inspected and reviewed. Committee member Dr. Marvindhar Singh expressed his views through online medium. In this meeting, Dr. Anup Das, Director, Eastern Research Complex, Patna, Central Headquarters of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, along with the heads of research programs – Dr. Arutosh Upadhyay (Head, Groundwater Management Division), Dr. Ujjarwal Kumar ( Head, Social Extension Division), R.A.C. Member Secretary, Dr. Kamal Sharma (Head, Food Production Management Division), Dr. Arun Kumar Singh, Head, Research Center, Ranchi, Fasal Chief Scientist of Production Management, Dr. A.K. Choudhary, Dr. Dev Karan, Head of the Institute’s Agricultural Science Centre, Buxar and Dr. Sadhu Ankhedhar, Head of the Agricultural Science Centre, Ramgarh were also present. At the beginning of the meeting, Director Dr. Anup Das welcomed the Chairman and members and presented the details of the achievements, work area and technologies of the institute.
Chairman of the committee, Dr. K. D. Kokate said that in the coming times, sustainable agricultural technologies should be developed keeping in mind the goal of “Zero Hunger-No Poverty”. He appreciated the agricultural technologies developed by the Institute and advised the Institute to work with government policy-makers to incorporate these technologies in the agricultural policies of the State for the benefit of farmers and focus on agricultural research focused on the needs of tribal farmers. Dadaya. Committee member Dr. Merven Kumar advised to popularize environment-friendly farming methods among farmers. Also, he expressed the need for research to solve the problem of soil degradation. Member Dr. K. N. Tatwari said that advances like solar farming and drones are popular among the farming community.
There is a need for wide dissemination of technologies. Member Dr. Masood Ali said that it would be beneficial to adopt system mode in agricultural research. Besides, the impact of agricultural techniques on the environment should also be studied. Dr. Rajbir Singh, Assistant Director General of the Council, called for the use of modern tools such as machine learning and artificial intelligence in decision-making processes in agriculture. Some progressive farmers and entrepreneurs of the state who have benefited from the institute’s research center, Ranchi, also participated in this meeting. Village- Farmers Rajermadhu of Saparom, Albina Ekka of Kharsidag, Anjali Lakra of Tetri, Saku Ramani of Plandu, Christopher Manj of Sapnadarkom and Manduni of Multi improved their livelihood by adopting advanced agricultural techniques developed by Kachhap Kendra.
Shared stories of improvement and success. The consensus expressed happiness at this. The committee reviewed the ongoing experiments and demonstrated technologies in the center’s area such as – Drip Mulching, Agri Photo Voltaic, Multi-layered Mango Crop System, Parval Mother Block, Seed Production Unit, Vermicompost Unit, Jump Lajjam of indigenous beekeepers of Jharkhand, Mango, Intensive horticulture of litchi and guava, basmati soybean production, dragon fruit production, integrated farming system units etc.
Inspection was done. On 8th May, the committee visited the fields of progressive farmer Mr. Baijnaa Mahato located at Ormanjhi. ABI linked to the center by the committee. A visit was made to the fruit industry nursery located at Tatimilve of incubatory and agricultural entrepreneur Mr. Shravan Kumar. The committee also observed the agricultural techniques adopted by farmer Christopher Mjan, a beneficiary of the Farmer Fish Program of Keshap Ndarkom village in Namkum block. As a memento of their visit, saplings were also planted in the Center by the Chairman, Members and Assistant Director General of the Committee. The Committee expressed appreciation on the work and achievements of the Center and provided guidelines for future research.
