Agri minister Tomar asks ICAR to make farm sector more job-oriented

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday asked ICAR to make the farm sector more employment-oriented with the help of New Education Policy (NEP).

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), set up in 1929, is an apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in the agriculture sector of the country. It offers agri-courses through its network of 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agri-universities.

ICAR has formed a six-member committee to suggest ways to bring farm education in line with the vision of NEP unveiled by the Centre.

Addressing 92nd annual general meeting of ICAR, Tomar underlined the unparallel contribution of the council and agricultural universities.

"The Union Minister urged to make the agricultural sector to be more employment-oriented with the help of the New Education Policy," said an official statement.

Lauding the efforts of agri-scientists, the minister said even during the challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic, the council maintained its relevance by achieving considerable growth in the production of various necessary food crops.

The development of various new varieties of crops by the ICAR is rewarding the country in many ways, he added.

Food Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministers of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary were also present in the meeting.