Agriculture Education Day Celebrated at ICAR-NRRI

CUTTACK: The National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack celebrated its 4th “Agriculture Education Day” on Monday  in its premises with the participation of above 200 students of class VIII to XII standard from 18 Schools and Junior Colleges around the city along with their teachers. Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra (Director, IARI, New Delhi) in his inaugural speech laid emphasis on the  relevance of various horizons of agricultural sciences covering education, research and extension. He emphasized that a career in agricultural science would be equally challenging and intellectually satisfying as any other science discipline. He encouraged the students and advised them to keep agriculture and allied subjects in mind, while choosing a career in future. Dr. Mohapatra also inaugurated the Agricultural Science Exhibition showcasing the projects developed by the students of the participating schools and colleges. The theme of the exhibition wss “Energy Efficient Rural Agricultural Production Systems”. He also released one educational bulletin entitled “Agriculture: The Cutting Edge of Innovations and Developments” for the benefits of the students.

 A.K. Panigrahi, IPS (Inspector General of Police, Odisha) graced the occasion as Guest of Honour. Dr. A.K. Nayak(Director, NRRI, Cuttack) sensitized the students about the scope and advantages of agriculture education and motivated them to be agents of progress in agricultural science.        The day-long celebration was interactive, engaging  and participatory  with special events for the participating students i.e. debate on “Transforming Farming into Commercial Ventures-Possibilities and Barriers”; quiz competition on “General Agriculture”; and group song competition, apart from the Exhibition which displayed the innovative ideas of the students in the form of models, charts, graphs and live materials. Through an outlet on Career Counseling in Agriculture, the students were sensitized and provided counseling on the scope and opportunity in the discipline.