Ever since this university was established, it has a vision of uplift and transformation, a vision for an Odisha, where agriculture is a cherished profession and source of livelihood for the farming community, by harnessing the power of technology, said Governor SC Jamir at the 36TH Convocation of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here on Monday. Jamir said it is that spirit that has made the OUAT a leading hub of Indian agriculture institutions. Alongside education, research can have a decisive impact on a university’s contribution to society. It is a university’ commitment to research that allows it to conceive solutions to local and global challenges.
Agriculture has undergone significant developments since the earliest cultivation. Irrigation, crop rotation, fertilisers and pesticides have made great strides in the last century to meet the needs of farmers. The growing demand for food productivity to meet the needs of the population has led to use of sophisticated technology in which pesticides play a crucial role, the Governor said.
He further said the “Industrialised food system has become more complex today. Today the system is dependent on extraordinary amounts of fossil fuel inputs. Energy is needed for growing, processing, distribution, preparing and disposing of food. With the rising cost of fuels and the scarcity among the non-renewable forms of energy we are setting ourselves for exorbitant food prices as well as potentially catastrophic environmental degradation as result of industrial food system.” Rise in one degree temperature will cause grain yields to decline by five per cent, posing a serious threat to food security. There is a need for large scale transformation in agriculture and develop climate-smart food production systems. Certain, there is a need to make the farmers climate-smart by providing them support and technical assistance. Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department Secretary Manoj Ahuja said the State which has brought out a progressive Agriculture Policy in 2103 with a special Agricultural Budget, has also been the pioneer in giving the status of Industry to the agriculture sector. The agriculture policy has also led to establishment of 3,200 commercial agri enterprises including agro service centres, broilers, poultry and others in the last five years. The State is on a path of implementing further progressive programmes to give greater boost to the agriculture sector.
The effective transfer of technology, constant technical support of scientists and hard work of the farmers have helped Odisha to bag its fourth Krishi Karman Award in last five years despite the State being a regular victim of adverse climatic conditions.
International Rice Research Institute, Philippines Director General and CEO Matthew K Morell said inexorable growth in population, pressure on scarce water resources, rising cost of fertilizers, scarcity of labour due to migration to cities and aging farmer populations, there is a need to empower women and youth in agriculture. The end result is that there is a need for to produce more with less land, labour and fewer inputs.
On the occasion, Chancellor of the university SC Jamir conferred honorary degrees and distributed medals and prizes to the successful students and faculties of the university. OUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Surendranath Pasupalak read out the annual report.