Guwahati, March 4: A two-day national seminar on “Sustainable Agri Business Opportunities & Management Practices towards Developing the Rural Economy” has began from today at the NKC Auditorium of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM). The seminar has been organized by the Department of Business Administration, USTM in collaboration with NABARD, according to a Press release from the USTM.
Addressing the inaugural session, Prof RM Pant, Vice Chancellor, Assam University said, “Almost 65.07 per cent people of India are living in villages. But sustaining the development of the rural sector has been a big challenge. Farmers have been marginalized. However development of rural India is a priority of the government of India.”
N Guite, General Manager, NABARD, Shillong expressed that NABARD is privileged to be a part of the seminar. “We have organic produces in the North East, but not have the volume and market links. There are lots of missing links. Research should be on a strong extension mechanism from land to lab, a hand holding approach”, she added.
Prof Rinalini Pathak Kakoty, Head of the Department of Business Administration, Gauhati University, said that in the agriculture sector now the main thrust should be on the food processing industry and the emphasis should be on value addition. She said that it is important to integrate rural management programs with corporate management.
The inaugural session of the seminar was also addressed by Prof. G. D. Sharma, Vice Chancellor, USTM , Prof. Amit Kumar Singh, Department of Rural Management, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow.
There are five sessions in the seminar which will be chaired by Prof. Amit Kumar Singh from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Dr. Tridib R Sarma from Tezpur University, Prof. Phanindra Goyari, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad, Subhas Bhattacharjee, Head-NE Region, Oil Palm and Prof. P. Paramashivaiah, Dept. of Studies & Research in Commerce, Tumkur University.
The participants in the seminar include: Academicians, Research Scholar, Industry Practitioners and students. More than 200 participants have registered for the seminar. The sub-themes of the seminar are: Agri-business and food processing innovative, Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Science and Technology in Business and Agriculture, Micro Enterprise, Sustainable Agro Business Practices, etc. Selected papers will be considered for publication in reputed International and National Journals and Book Chapters with ISBN.