SHILLONG: Delay in passing of knowledge from researchers to farmers has made many a finding redundant, observed Deputy Chief Minister Rowell Lyngdoh while delivering the inaugural address at the three-day 7th National Extension Education Congress at ICAR Research Complex, Umiam on Saturday.
Expressing concern over this, Lyngdoh urged agricultural scientists to address the problem by strengthening the link between research, agricultural extension and teaching.
“Economic liberalization and World Trade Organization (WTO) regime demand manifold re-orientation in the agriculture and extension education system,” the Deputy Chief Minister said adding that market oriented education and extension along with changes in agricultural marketing policy for the national and international markets is the need of the hour.
According to Lyngdoh, one of the bigger challenges faced by agricultural extension in India is the task of identifying its role in equipping the human resources for enhanced agricultural productivity and sustainable use of natural resources.
He recollected that agricultural colleges and universities were initially assigned to disseminate scientific knowledge and skills to the farming community and to train them for better productivity.
“In order to keep pace with the fast changing scientific and technical improvement, a mechanism to update the human resources through agricultural education and extension has become very critical,” the Deputy Chief Minister added.
Meanwhile, former ICAR director, Mangala Rai, in his key note address said, “For sustainable economic development of the small farmers, production, processing, marketing and access should be seen as parts of the same chain. The dream of ‘Swatch Bharat’ can be realized through a clean and efficient agriculture.”
Referring to the loss of grains in godowns, he said that if economic and ecological access increases, the food loss would reduce to a great extent.
ICAR Research Complex, NEH Region Director, SV Ngachan said that looking at the significance of the thematic areas like small farm holders and their farming complexities and priorities, technology dissemination approaches, integration of public-private support systems, farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing mechanism within the context of present agricultural development in the country, the 7th National Extension Education Congress was appropriate and a befitting one.
Meanwhile, on the occasion, Society of Extension Education, Agra presented life time achievement awards to several stalwarts of agricultural extension, education and social work like Dr. G Trivedi, Dr K Narayan Gowda and conferred the founder of the NGO, My Home India, Sunil Deodhar as the North East Man of the decade.
About 500 extension specialists from different parts of the country are participating in the Congress which will continue until November 11.
On the occasion fish fingerlings, soil testing kits, vegetable seeds etc. were also distributed to the farmers by the Deputy Chief Minister.
