Jorhat, April 1: Assam Agricultural University is looking to break out of the confines of academics and research and take technology to the farmers.
On the 47th foundation day of the university today, vice-chancellor K.M. Bujarbaruah announced they would adopt cultivable land in Jorhat district in order to implement different projects.
Addressing the gathering at the AAU auditorium, Bujarbaruah said the university should make its presence felt not only in the academic world but also work for the farmers.
"In one quarter, we will undertake total mechanisation, in the second, take up triple cropping, in another we will complete organic farming and in the fourth quarter, undertake biodiversity conservation of resources," he said.
He asked teachers to take up this challenge and create a model district for others to follow. "The challenges in agriculture are growing and we should be equipped to take them on," he said.
Citing the example of Singapore where agriculture was taking place in three to four-storied high-tech greenhouses, the vice-chancellor said students should be taught to think how to develop agriculture so they can play a role in taking the state forward.
"We are mulling the procurement of a phenomic facility at the cost of Rs 40 crore to measure the physical and biochemical change of an organism in response to genetic mutation and environmental changes," Bujarbaruah said.
"We have the best biotechnology centre at the university. Our Fishery Research Centre has developed a greenhouse unit, which enables fishes to lay eggs earlier than they do in natural climatic conditions of Assam so that fries meant for rearing need not be imported," he said.
Hydroponics and biotechnology were two areas to be explored, as was vertical agriculture, the vice-chancellor said.
Talking about resource conservation in sandy areas, Bujarbaruah referred to the high siltation of the Brahmaputra and said underground tanks built by the riverbank could provide not only drinking water and irrigation but also ameliorate the flood problem.
Telling teachers they had tough years ahead, he asked them to prepare projects which would develop technology in order to push agriculture forward. The vice-chancellor said funding for such projects would be provided under the Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Yojana.
Bujarbaruah said precision farming was another area to be explored in which satellites help examine soil quality and determine the exact amount of fertiliser and its type. It can also protect soil health and save on the cost of fertiliser through judicious use.
The vice-chancellor said the university had been ranked sixth among agricultural institutes in the country.
Lakshmi Nandan Bora, who delivered the foundation day lecture, reminisced about his days as a professor in the university. He spoke about the people he had come across during his days in the institute and in the district on which he had based some of his characters. Bora regaled the audience with anecdotes from his life and experiences, each of which had taught him some life lessons.
Proclaiming himself an agnostic, Bora asked the students to give up egoism and arrogance and not be judgmental about people because "the world would be a very dull place if everyone was religious and reliable". He asked them to eat healthy and be balanced in mind, spirit and physique.
The foundation day of AAU was also observed at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Tezpur.
