Agri varsities should help improve food safety, crop yield: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan addressing the 52nd and the 53rd convocations of ANGRAU in Tirupati on Wednesday
Tirupati: Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan wanted the agriculture universities in the country to put efforts towards increasing food safety, yield and also focus on increasing income to the farmers.
Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University (ANGRAU) 52nd and 53rd convocations were held at Mahati Auditorium here on Wednesday.
During the convocation address, the Governor who took part in the programme as the Chancellor of the university said it was imperative to find ways of increasing profits to the farmers by inventing new varieties of seeds for all crops.
He hailed the efforts made by stakeholders in agriculture sector to increase its share in National Gross Domestic Product which from 17.8 per cent in 2019-20 to 19.9 per cent in 2020-21. The Governor stressed the need for carrying out more research programmes to improve yields of various crops and agriculture a more profitable activity.
Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy who participated as the chief guest, has commended ANGRAU's efforts in taking the advanced technical knowledge to the farmers through Rythu Bharosa Kendrams set up by the State government. He said agriculture sector will witness rapid growth under the able leadership of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Vice-Chancellor A Vishnuvardan Reddy said ANGRAU scientists were contributing highly for the development of the agriculture sector in the State as well as in the country.
Earlier, Chancellor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan along with Vice-Chancellor Vishnuvardan Reddy presented B Sc degrees to 1,544 students, PG degrees to 328 students and 91 PhDs for the academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
The ANGRAU announced doctorate to Union Minister for Jal Shakthi Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. But the Union Minister did not take part in the convocation.
Unveiling new system of presenting national wards, the ANGRAU awarded Prof V Ramachandra Rao Memorial National Award to Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Director Dr AK Singh and Prof NV Reddy Memorial National Award to retired scientist Aalapati Sathyanarayana. It is pertinent to note that Prof NV Reddy invented world famous BPT 5204 (Sona Masuri) rice variety and Prof V Ramachandra Rao invented Swarna variety rice. Tirupati MP Gurumurthy, ANGRAU Registrar T Gridhar Krishna, Dean Prathapkumar Reddy, RARS Director L Prasanthi, governing body members, academic council members, teaching faculty and others were present.