SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Feb 2: Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on Thursday questioned why Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) is still not one of the top 20 agricultural universities in the nation. He further noted that BAU was ranked 53rd in the national ranking issued by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the year 2017, which further dropped out of the top 60 agricultural universities in the country in the year 2018.
However, in the year 2020, it got 58th position, the governor added.
The governor was addressing students, teachers and other dignitaries at the 7th Convocation of the Birsa Agricultural University for 1139 students of UG, PG and PhD of sessions 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The governor further added that university officials make sure that the criteria set by ICAR for ranking such as grading on the infrastructure, the status of teachers, number of students, placements, research work, and foreign visits of teachers and scientists among others are fulfilled.
He also instructed that officials make sure of the status of national and international funds and that work in the interest and social responsibility of farmers are followed. He advised students and teachers to work with the farmers for their benefit as agricultural research in India is still on the down low as compared to other countries.
He commented that despite new technologies to ease work for farmers being developed, the farmers don’t get much help. In some cases, the developments don’t reach farmers while in others the farmers don’t receive proper training. He also said that hardworking farmers are the rightful owners of the knowledge discovered by the research of agricultural scientists.
Governor Bais further commented that Jharkhand has still not been able to become self-sufficient in food grains, however, the state is self-reliant in vegetable production and is also exporting to neighbouring states. He stressed that ways be developed to increase the income of farmers by linking them with horticulture, cow rearing, goat rearing, pisciculture, poultry, piggery, lac production, beekeeping, mushroom production, and grain cultivation.
The governor further advised students of their role in building a better future for the farmers. “Try your best to make the farmers self-reliant, develop agricultural technology and systems and inform farmers about advanced seeds and new techniques,” Governor Bais added.
He also suggested that improving soil health, controlling pollution and increasing the availability of nutrients in food, along with finding solutions to various issues in the field of agriculture was the responsibility of the scientists. He said that in Jharkhand despite good rainfall, the plateau terrain leads to the wastage of 80 per cent of the rainwater without any use.
He advised students that in the absence of an irrigation facility, there is a need to work on a large scale in the field of water conservation and water management.
Altogether 24 students received gold medals for securing the highest overall grade point average (OGPA) in different UG and PG courses. Three students received Chancellor’s University Gold Medal for obtaining the highest OGPA in all the courses of the university during 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The top three achievers are Swapnil, M Sc (Ag) in Genetics & Plant Breeding (2019), M Devender, M Sc (Ag) in Entomology (2020) and Kajal Kumari, BFSc, College of Fisheries Science, Gumla (2021).
Other dignitaries present on the occasion included ICAR Director Himanshu Pathak, BAU Vice Chancellor Dr Onkar Nath Singh, Heads and Deans of departments, teachers and parents of the passing students.
