Governor’s advisor Ravindra Singh reviewed the research work being undertaken in the field of agriculture by the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT) at Pantnagar.
He said that the university should undertake efforts to ensure that information about new agriculture techniques reaches the farmers to enable them to implement the same. He also said that facilities like sending agriculture related information to farmers on the mobile phone.
Singh further said that various varieties of seeds should be developed for the industrial farming sector so that the people can receive different types of the same crop. The Governor’s advisor further said that techniques should also be devised in order to facilitate production of fruits of mango, litchi and guava during the off-season enabling the State to supply such off-season produce to other states.
He also spoke of encouraging the cultivation of litchi in the Ramnagar area of Nainital district and areas of Udham Singh Nagar district. Singh also elicited focus on the need for encouraging the farmers to adopt ‘organic’ farming and minimise the use of chemical fertilizers and chemical
pesticides so that the fertility of the soil can also be maintained.
The experts of GBPUAT should also conduct studies in the marketing sector so that the farmers can get good price for their produce, he said. The university officials informed the governor’s advisor about the various works being undertaken by GBPUAT.
According to the officials, at present, the university has 40 research centres with 138 programmes being implemented.