In accordance with the declaration made by the chief minister, Dr Raman Singh, to link youths with agriculture and allied sectors, the state government will open five new agriculture colleges in Kanker, Bematara, Raigarh, Rajnadgaon and Korea districts of the state. Provision for opening these colleges has been made in the budget for financial year 2013-14, informed in an official statement here on Friday.
According to the statement proposals have been made for the establishment of Vivekananda Agriculture Engineering College in Raipur and Horticulture College in Jagadalpur under the Indira Gandhi Agriculture University Raipur in the current financial year.
As per the official press statement, from the next academic session, Agri Business department would be started at Raipur Agriculture College. To impart agriculture education to the youths of farmer families, five per cent seats in agriculture colleges will be reserved for the boys and girls of the farmers.
In order to extend farm education and its new techniques to all categories of the society, the agriculture department will bear the educational and residential expenses of fifty per cent special backward tribal students studying in the agriculture colleges of the state.
Agriculture minister Chandrashekhar Sahu said that much emphasise had been given to agriculture education in the second agriculture budget presented in the Chhattisgarh assembly. A provision of Rs 94.50 crore has been made for agriculture research and education this year. Besides, proposals have been made this year for the establishment of veterinary college in Bilaspur and veterinary polytechnics in Surajpur, Mahasamund and Jagadalpur for better health treatment of animals, the minister added.
The minister said that a potato research centre would be established Mainpat, famous for potato cultivation. looking to the increased demand for tissue culture plants, tissue culture laboratories would be established in Raipur and Bilaspur on PPP mode this year. Moreover, to promote research in agriculture field, 50 progressive farmers of the state would be given Dr Khoobchand Baghel Fellowship every year, the minister added.