Virtual Varsity Set To Reach Out To Ryots

The first Andhra Pradesh regional forum meeting of the Virtual Univrsity for the Semi-Arid Tropics (VUSAT) held at the BR Amedkar Open University here saw the coming together of different stakeholders from the state.

Besides, Icrisat and the university, the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (Crida), the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Unviersity, the state department for women and child welfare, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, and the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) were represented at the meeting, according to a press release here.

Icrisat director-general William Dar said that VUSAT would help bridge the digital divide in the villages so that the poor communitie get benefited. "It is a big task and all the stakeholders need to dream big," he said.

The virtual university can take the message of improved agricultural producvity to millions of farmers. It cal also provide the critical information to the vulnerable communities, enabling them to cope better with drought, he added.

There was consensus at the regional forum meet to move forward on the initiative. Each stakeholder agreed to contribute its mite to the forum. The meeting felt that VUSAT was the concept of the new century, seamlessly integrating the strengths of different agencies to meet a common objective.

There was a need to quickly study th connectivity infrastructure in the rural areas of the state as well as with the partnering institutions, the meeting noted.