GUWAHATI, Dec 22 - Science and technology is the bedrock for bringing impetus to the entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture and allied sectors for farmers.
This was the opinion of experts who took part in a webinar organised by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Guwahati on the topic �Agriculture and allied industry and its immense potential in Assam in entrepreneurial and socio-economic Atmanirbhar Bharat development� here on Monday.
Experts from industry, along with academicians, deliberated and discussed the opportunities in the agriculture and allied sectors from an academic and policy perspective.
Noted inventor and innovator Dr Uddhab Kumar Bharali said agriculture and technological development has to happen in tandem. He said the efficacy of technology is of prime importance from the perspective of entrepreneurial opportunities for farmers and also for market demand sustainability.
Dr Bharali said technology plays a game-changing role when it comes to bringing efficiency and productivity in agriculture. He added that low-cost machinery and its effect on productivity could act as motivators for entrepreneurs to take up agriculture as a business opportunity.
He said that changing the life of farmers has to be a holistic process of providing facilities for developing quality agricultural products and added that in this perspective allied sectoral development of agriculture plays a vital role.
Highlighting the potential of agriculture, Dr SK Md Azizur Rehman, senior scientist and head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, ICAR Bardhaman, said technology and policies play a very vital role for agriculture and its growth and development.
He said that low-cost machinery along with growing awareness could generate traction in the agricultural field so that entry in the domain is productive and efficacious for farmers.
Prof ZR Azad, faculty of agriculture from Aligarh Muslim University, said that mixed farming along with cooperative farming and development of centres to process primary food could provide the competence for comparative advantage for farmers.
He said that in that endeavour, training and human capital development with awareness programmes could provide the impetus for better results.
Prof Azad added that equitable development along with environment-friendly growth is the reason for success of farming entrepreneurs.
Shyamsundar Das, secretary of Digha Fishermen & Fish Traders Association (DFFTA), said problems and solutions have to be analysed from the perspective of all the value-addition players in the business ecosystem.
He said that rainwater harvesting along with planned farming techniques could play a game-changing role for agriculture and fisheries. Das said technology has to be environment-friendly so that the benefits have an accentuating effects on the future too.
The webinar was coordinated by Samrat Bandyopadhyay, Joint Director (Media and Communication) of PIB Guwahati. Senior officers of PIB were present in the webinar, which also witnessed the participation of students, academicians, members of the industry fraternity of Assam, as well as journalists and other government officials from Doordarshan, Regional Outreach Bureau, and All India Radio (AIR) Guwahati.
