This story is from May 20, 2020

Agriculture as a career choice as world shifts to new normal

The far reaching implications of Covid-19 have once again propelled the ‘not-so-glamourous’ profession of agriculture into mainstream discussion, worldwide.
Agriculture as a career choice as world shifts to new normal
Representative image
The far reaching implications of Covid-19 have once again propelled the ‘not-so-glamourous’ profession of agriculture into mainstream discussion, worldwide.
Eminent agricultural scientist, MS Swaminathan, in the context of Covid-19, has called for strong agricultural genetic diversity to strengthen food security and in turn reduce vulnerability to infections such as the current pandemic.
He also has explained through his early research on potato, focusing on the spread of pests and diseases, how India can be prepared for the spread of diseases, including viruses, while ensuring food security of the farming community and rural poor.
“Thus in the post-Covid-19 recovery phase, as the world looks towards adjusting to ‘the-new-normal’, the country’s youth that forms 50% of India’s population (in the 18- 25 age group) need to be informed citizens and agricultural propagators in the form of agricultural scientists and educated farmers to ensure that food supply, nutrition and health of citizens remain on the forefront,” opines Aniketa Horo, a 3rd year PhD student of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), who bagged the ‘Best Paper Presentation Award’ at the national wsebinar on ‘Approaches Toward Development of Rural and Agriculture Sector in the Present Scenario’ organised by JNKVV, College of Agriculture, Tikamgarh (MP) recently.
She explains that since life after the pandemic would revolve around becoming self-sufficient, independent and self-employed due to shrinkage of income generating opportunities, it is pertinent that India’s youth transitions smoothly from education to economic activity; making the most of the now available smart farming tools, farm mechanisation equipment, supply chain management and processing of farm produce, allied activities like fishery, dairy, apiary, mushroom cultivation for generating steady and round the year income.
Further, ICT (Information and Communication technology) in agriculture is a field with a huge scope for entrepreneurship as well as employment generation for graduates and post graduates in allied agricultural fields. According to a study by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), agri start-ups which are growing at 25 per cent year-on-year basis, can offer technological solutions for helping the Indian farm sector in keeping the food and farm supply chain rolling during and post lockdown phase, as well as in future too.

More number of start ups are needed to connect farmers with buyers, including retailers, e-commerce, processors, cloud kitchens and even direct to consumers. To address post harvest challenges too, start-ups have a role to play by starting work near the farm by offering modular and affordable storage and processing solutions. These storage facilities are intended to give farmers an option to sell the produce at the right price and at the right time, instead of immediate or distressed liquidation of their produce after harvest. This indeed is a win-win situation for the farmer and the entrepreneur with agricultural education as a strong backup.
As a count of the numerous success stories, agricultural scientists have created startups focusing on accurate and timely assessment of soil moisture and developing data-driven controlled irrigation models. Younger agricultural graduates have launched business platforms that provide farmers advisory for crop monitoring, including institutional credit and crop insurance.
Agricultural engineers with interest in artificial intelligence can look at a bright future of getting absorbed in industries using satellite images to geotag farms, assess crop health and estimate output. They can also get absorbed in building algorithms for farm monitoring and models for artificial intelligence to automate and improve predictably of yield and farmers' incomes.
For the upcoming generation starved of open spaces and clean air, a career in agricultural education would give them a chance to not only address the world’s pressing issues of population growth and food and nutritional security, it is one field that simultaneously gives you opportunity to work with nature and technology.
(Writer is Gulneet Chahal, Assistant Director, Communication PAU, Ludhiana)
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