CAU exploring possible ways to accelerate agri products
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 09 2014: Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal has been playing pivotal role in exploring all possible way to accelerate agricultural products in the State, asserted Padma Bhushan Dr Ram Badan Singh, Chancellor of the university.

He was attending the third convocation of CAU, Imphal held at its complex located at Iroishemba, Imphal West today.

Addressing the gathering as the chief guest, Dr RB Singh stated that it was with the sole objective of providing trained personnel against the backdrop of non-availability of professionals in agriculture and allied subjects in the northeastern region that the first Central Agricultural University of the country was established with its headquarters at Imphal and jurisdiction over six northeastern States of Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh by an act of Parliament in 1993 .

Third convocation of Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal

He acknowledged that this university with its seven major campuses in the six States, over the years has become a premier institution of agricultural education, research and extension.

Saying that the performance of the students of CAU, Imphal was excellent at national level in the ARS, NET and Junior Research Fellow/Post Graduate Entrance examinations conducted by ICAR, he conceded that the university is also a big source of assistance to the resource poor farming community in agriculture and related multi-disciplines of Crop Production, Horticulture, Forestry, Fisheries, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Agricultural Engineering & Food Technology and Home Science.

The northeastern region has its own unique place in agriculture and related activities.

With rich fertile land, abundant water and favorable climatic conditions, agriculture in this region has considerable potential to grow and contribute to the food and nutrition security, reducing rural poverty and accelerating economic growth in the region, he added.

Maintaining that the region is also gifted by nature with tremendous biodiversity and widely varying agro-climatic conditions, the Chancellor informed that the region which is a mega centre of bio-diversity is known to have at least 8, 000 flowering plant species, 700 species of orchids, 63 species of bamboo and 64 species of citrus and other fruits.

He continued that the region also has immense potential in organic agriculture, food processing, horticulture, commercial cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, floriculture and minor forest products, while noting that the advantage of organic farming needs to be exploited suitably through technical and institutional interventions and the northeast should be developed as an exclusive economic zone for organic products.

Expressing that the hill agriculture has remained under exploited due to limitation of system specific production technologies, poor transport, market and few others; he mentioned that the declining per capita land and water availability together with soil erosion and land degradation in the hill region exacerbated with shifting cultivation-jhumping, pose serious threat to food security. Dr SN Puri, Vice-Chancellor of CAU, Imphal was also present at the occasion.

During the convocation function, altogether 1173 students including 850 Under Graduate and 323 Post Graduate were conferred with the Bachelors and Masters degrees.