Jharkhand has immense potential for floriculture: BAU VC

PNS

Ranchi

Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) Vice-Chancellor Dr. S.C. Dubey on Saturday said Jharkhand has immense potential for floriculture and flower-based enterprises and called upon extension workers and farmers to tap the sector to enhance farm incomes.

Addressing the 40th meeting of the Extension Education Council at BAU, Dr. Dubey said the state’s favourable soil, climate and proximity to Kolkata provide ideal conditions for year-round flower cultivation and access to a large market. He stressed the need to strengthen linkages with institutions for storage, cold chain, transportation and buy-back arrangements. He also urged Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to develop data repositories and said farmers’ incomes could increase by up to 50 per cent through cost reduction and value addition.

Technical Advisor to the National Seed Association of India, Dr. R.K. Tripathi said agriculture must be made more attractive to the younger generation by promoting agribusiness and startup opportunities. While highlighting the growing role of artificial intelligence, he said human intervention would continue to remain indispensable in agriculture, particularly in drone operations, pest surveillance and farmer support services. He also called for better monitoring and evaluation of extension activities.

ICAR-ATARI Patna Principal Scientist Dr. D.B. Singh said KVKs play a crucial role in transferring technologies developed by agricultural universities and ICAR institutions to farmers. He noted that under the “Khet Bachao Abhiyan” last year, scientists from 23 KVKs in Jharkhand visited over 1,000 villages and interacted with more than 1.03 lakh farmers. He added that nearly 9.9 lakh farmers from Jharkhand are registered on the Kisan Saathi portal for technical advisory services.

Director of Extension Education Dr. D.K. Shahi said Jharkhand’s KVKs organised 1,622 training programmes during the previous financial year, benefiting nearly 59,000 farmers and extension workers, while other extension activities reached around 8.42 lakh farmers. He also said the College of Veterinary Science treated over 15,000 sick animals during the period.

Three progressive farmers were honoured during the programme: Santosh Bedia of Angara for natural farming, Phalindra Mahto of Budmu for dairy farming, and Devicharan Gope of Bharno in Gumla for successfully managing a Farmers Producer Company. Senior agricultural scientists, former BAU officials and representatives of various research institutions attended the meeting.