BHAWANIPATNA: The State Government is contemplating to introduce agriculture as a compulsory subject from primary school to university level to encourage students to opt for cultivation as a profession.

This was stated by Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy, who was here to attend the commemoration day of OUAT’s Agriculture College on Wednesday. Thrust will also be given on extensive use of bio-fertilizer and soil testing, he said.

Maharathy said work of potato mission has been launched in the State with a target to produce 10 lakh tonnes from the present 2,20,000 tonnes. The Minister also informed that for the benefit of farming community, a Krushak Bhawan will be set up at Bhubaneswar with an estimated cost of `44.85 crore. Stating that there is excellent infrastructure and scope in this tribal dominated district for agriculture, Maharathy said Kalahandi is a land of large varieties of crops like paddy, cotton, onion, oil seeds, pulses, maize, minor millets and minor agriculture crops while irrigation is available in large areas.
Vice-Chancellor of OUAT Manoranjan Kar said nothing can compensate hard work. He asked students to convert challenges into opportunities. “So far as results and other activities of the students are concerned, this college is best among the colleges under OUAT,” he said.

Among others, Minister Pushpendra Singh Deo and MLAs Balabhadra Majhi and Dibya Shankar Mishra attended.
Source : NIE