Agriculture now about drones, AI, biotechnology, says UP Governor
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, while highlighting the evolution of agriculture on Monday, said that women who earlier watched their families farm from the field boundaries are now operating drones to spray fertilisers and pesticides.
Addressing the 28th convocation of Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology in Ayodhya, Patel said agriculture was no longer confined to fields and ploughs, but had expanded to include drones, data, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and entrepreneurship.
Emphasising that scientific and technical knowledge acquired by students should now reach farms and villages, Patel urged students to ensure that their knowledge did not remain confined to laboratories and books but was visible in villages and fields.
“Agriculture today is not just the story of the plough and the field. It is also the story of agricultural drones, data, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and entrepreneurship,” she said, according to an official statement.
“In the coming times, a university student could start an agricultural enterprise that connects thousands of farmers with markets; develop an app that provides farmers with information about their crops, weather and markets; or establish a startup that develops technology to produce more with less water,” she said.
Urging students to ensure that they apply their knowledge in villages and fields, she said the combination of their knowledge and farmers’ experience could become the basis of a new agricultural revolution.
A total of 774 students, including 584 men and 190 women, were awarded degrees at the convocation.
The governor also expressed concern over the relatively low participation of women in agricultural education and urged the university to make special efforts to attract more female students.
Initiatives such as “Drone Didi”, she said, were providing rural women with new identities and opportunities. Women who earlier watched their families farm from the field boundaries were now operating drones to spray fertilisers and pesticides, she said. ML Jat, secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, who was the chief guest, urged students to become job creators instead of merely seeking employment.
Agriculture, Agricultural Education and Research Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said prosperity in agriculture would lead to prosperity in villages and the state, helping realise the vision of a developed India.
University Vice-Chancellor Gyanendra Pratap Singh presented a report on its achievements and future priorities.
Patel also honoured progressive farmers and entrepreneurs for work in agricultural diversification, natural farming, medicinal crops, animal husbandry, organic manure, modern farming techniques and products made from natural fibres.
