A three-day training program on ‘Climate Friendly Agriculture’ was organized at the University Center (Nahep Bhawan) jointly by the Research Directorate of the University and the Rural Development Department of the Government of Uttarakhand under the REEP-IFED project. A total of 75 master trainers including assistant managers and assistant agriculture officers from all the districts of Uttarakhand state are participating in this training program under the Reap-Ifed project. In the inaugural session of the program, chief guest Vice Chancellor Dr. Manmohan Singh Chauhan discussed in detail the effects of climate change taking place in Uttarakhand and accordingly stressed the importance of climate friendly agriculture. Giving the example of special geographical areas of the mountains, he said that scientists should take cognizance of those areas in the mountains where sunlight reaches very little, but still there are some plants which grow and flourish very well. Plants can become an important part of climate friendly agriculture. He also stressed on the use of various crop species and livestock and poultry breeds developed by Pantnagar University for hilly areas. He appealed to the master trainers that whatever they learn in this three-day training program, they should definitely take the techniques of the university to the remote rural areas among the families who have very little land, so that such families can be made self-reliant. So that they can get employment opportunities at the local level and migration from the mountains can be prevented.
The organizer of the program was Director Research Dr. A.S. Nain said that an agreement was reached between the University and Dr. Nikita Khandelwal (IAS), Project Director of the Rural Development Department of Uttarakhand, considering its importance in the context of climate-friendly agriculture. According to this agreement, the universities will provide the knowledge of their scientists and technicians to the master trainers of REEP-IFED through training. After that these trained master trainers will take these technologies to the rural areas of Uttarakhand. Dr. Nain told that during this three-day training program, all the aspects of climate-appropriate agriculture like crop management, crop species, horticulture management, medicinal plants, water management in hilly areas, animal husbandry will be covered as per the different geographical areas of Uttarakhand. etc. will be discussed in detail. Rep-IFED representative Vipan Mandwal threw light on the objectives and activities of the project. During the inaugural session, lectures by experts on various subjects related to training were given by Dr. A.S. The book ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ edited by Nain and Dr. Anil Kumar was also released by the chief guest. This book is written by Dr. M.S. It is dedicated to the valuable and excellent contribution made by Swaminathan in the field of agriculture. At the end of the program, Dr. M.S., the father of green revolution in Indian agriculture. Tributes were paid to Swaminathan. The program was conducted by Joint Director Research Dr. Anil Kumar and Dr. P.K. Done by Singh. On this occasion, Registrar of the University, Dr. K. P. Raverkar, Director of Communication and Extension Education Dr. J.P. Jaiswal, Dean Agriculture Dr. S.K. Kashyap, Dean Home Science Dr. Alka Goyal, Dr. Sanjay Verma and Dr. V.P. Scientists and officials including Singh were present.
Read more: https://gbpuat.ac.in/news/05.10.2023_Pantnagar_News.pdf
