"Agricultural Education - A Soul of improving Agriculture; improving Lifes"

We are celebrating agricultural education day today . Want to know why this day is celebrated and it's importance. Let's get-in to know the information on it.

Agricultural Education Day:

Indian Council of Agricultural Research has designated on 3rd December as "Agricultural Education Day" to commemorate the birth anniversary of first President of Independent India and Union Minister of Agriculture, Bharat Ratna, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. 

Who is Rajendra Prasad?

Rajendra Prasad was born on 3rd December 1884 in the Siwan district of Bihar. After completing his Master's degree in Economics from the University of Calcutta in 1907, he went on to study law at the Calcutta Law College and practised at the Calcutta High Court.

Role in Independence movements: In 1911, he became a member of the Indian National Congress and subsequently served as its President thrice. Prasad gave up his legal career to join the independence movement in 1920 and was imprisoned during the Salt Satyagraha in 1931 and the Quit India movement in 1942.

Role in Constitution Assembly: In 1946, Rajendra Prasad joined the Interim Government of India as the Minister of Food and Agriculture. As a firm believer in the maximization of agricultural production, he crafted the slogan “Grow More Food.”

He was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly from the Bihar Province where he served as the president of the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1950. During this time, he was also the chairman of four committees. He was always admired for his qualities of objectivity, impartiality, patience and intellect in his role as the President of the Assembly.

What is the objective of this day?

The objective of this day was to expose students including schools to various facets of agriculture and its relevance to country's development, inspire them and attract them towards agriculture, so that they develop interest in agriculture and allied subjects, choose professional career after schooling in some of these courses, engage themselves in agriculture and related activities or become agri-entrepreneurs in future.

History of an Agricultural Education:

The history of agricultural education in India can be traced back to mediaeval period when study of agriculture was included in the curricula of Nalanda and Takshashila Universities as an important subject. However, formalised courses in agricultural education began only at the beginning of 20th Century when six agricultural colleges were established at Kanpur, Lyallpur (now in Pakistan), Coimbatore and Nagpur in 1905, at Pune in 1907 and at Sabour in 1908 under the General Universities.

After the independence, the Government of India initiated an extensive planning process. To ensure orderly growth, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which is the apex body for coordinating, guiding, and managing research and education in agriculture in the entire country, took the lead and drafted the first Model Act for Agricultural Universities in India in 1966 and encouraged the setting up of exclusive State Agricultural Universities for research, extension and education support. The first Agriculture University in the country was set up in 1960 at Pantnagar (now in Uttarakhand), which paved the way for establishment of agricultural universities in other states. 

Need of Agricultural Education:

India is primarily an agrarian society, even today almost 70% of the population depends on agriculture. The agriculture sector is important for food security, employment generation and economic growth. Modern agriculture is knowledge-based, in which education at all levels, particularly higher education has an important role. As agriculture is above and beyond farming is now the backbone system, in addition to providing employment opportunities. The fast rate of development in agriculture sector offers progressive outlook as well as increased motivation for development.

In order to sustain, diversify and realise the potential of agriculture sectors, it is necessary to develop skilled human resources. Agricultural human resource development is a continuous process undertaken by agricultural universities. 

Agricultural universities impart education in the various disciplines of agriculture viz., Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Forestry, Horticulture, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Dairy Science, Food Technology, Fisheries Science, Agriculture Information Technology, Agri Business Management etc. It imparts education at the level of diploma, degree, masters and doctoral level.

The Government of India has also started implementing many courses and programmes to strengthen Agricultural Education, Research & Extension for an enduring and sustainable development in agriculture. Today we have many agricultural universities and colleges in India. At present there are 4 Deemed Universities, 3 Central Agricultural Universities, 4 Central Universities with Agriculture faculty and 64 State Agricultural Universities.

Reasons to choose agriculture as profession:

1. Start up business will help entrepreneurs and rural poor .
2. Agricultural in developing world has become vibrant with effective innovations.
3. The trend of youth choosing agriculture is growing.

Conclusion:

Agricultural science involves research and development on production, processing, productivity of crops and end products for consumers. Major activities include improving the quality and quantity of farming, improving crop yield, minimizing labour, conservation of soil and water, and pest control.

Agriculture education help our learners to appreciate and associate with agriculture because the subject is very important to continue for generations to come, to change their perceptions, encourage their  involvement in agriculture activities and to understand issues of the environment and climate change.