The Governor of Andhra Pradesh S. Abdul Nazeer suggested the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) prepare an action plan to spread millets cultivation in the State and also to develop millet villages and zones in various districts in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture.
Participating in the 55 th convocation of the University held on the Agricultural College campus in Bapatla on Monday, the Governor and the Chancellor of the University said, “The University made significant contributions in terms of release of improved crop varieties and introduction of new technologies, techniques for comprehensive crop production. The adoption of crop varieties and technologies of this University by farmers has resulted in significant growth in the agricultural economy of the State”.
During the year 2021-22, eight crop varieties were developed by this University— four rice, one Bengal gram, one horse gram and three cotton. They were released at the national level, in addition to the 17 improved varieties of other crops.
The university produces the highest quality breeder seed among all the State Agricultural Universities in India. This university produced a total of 51,248 quintals of quality seed, which include 19,727 quintals of breeders’ seed and 26,186 quintals of foundation seed., per sources.
In view of the climate change and shifts in agricultural seasons and cropping patterns, the Governor advised the University scientists to gear up and continuously interact with the farmers through various means of communication and note the hardships and challenges faced by them in crop management.
He asked the scientists to recommend good crop management practices to the farmers to ensure better food security in the future.
This is the right time to identify improved methods and technologies and adopt them for maximizing crop yields in the changing climate scenarios, he said and added that the scientists could make use of predictive analytics through artificial intelligence, Blockchain, usage of Drones, and remote sensing technologies to mitigate any unforeseen problems, during the process.
In this programme, the University Vice-Chancellor Dr. A. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, Prof. Rajendra Singh Paroda, former Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and others participated.
