Director Agriculture Jammu inaugurates 5-Day internship programme for school students

• Interns set to learn about departmental functioning, technical laboratories, applied agri practices

JAMMU: Director Agriculture Jammu, Anil Gupta today inaugurated a five-day Internship Programme for the students of Government Boys Higher Secondary School (GBHSS) R S Pura, Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Sai and Government Boys Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Chakroi of RS Pura Zone.

A total of twenty four students, eight from each school along with ten teachers are participating in this academic initiative aimed at providing practical exposure to departmental functioning, technical laboratories and applied agricultural practices. Joint Director Agriculture (Extension), Sanjay Anand; Deputy Director (Trainings), Karuna Nidhi; Academic Mentor from Bharti Airtel Foundation, Arvi Khan; senior officers and staff of the Agriculture Department were present.

While addressing the gathering during the inaugural session, Director Agriculture, Anil Gupta encouraged the students to explore agriculture as a modern, technology-driven and promising field offering vast opportunities for research, innovation and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the importance of youth engagement in agriculture and appreciated the efforts of the participating schools and the Bharti Airtel Foundation for collaborating in this learning initiative. He further stated that if educated youth enter the agriculture sector, it will significantly promote modern and scientific farming practices, leading to increased farmers’ income and enabling the country to shift from being an agriculture import-dependent nation to an export-oriented one.

Joint Director Agriculture (Extension), Sanjay Anand stated that agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy and is one of the country’s priority sectors. He highlighted that more than six lakh farmers in the Jammu Division are associated with the Agriculture Department, which supports them at every stage from sowing to ensuring that their produce reaches the market. He expressed confidence that the students would gain a meaningful understanding of scientific agriculture, laboratory operations and the various schemes offered by the department.

The inaugural session was followed by an orientation in the Auditorium at Kisan Kendra, Talab Tillo, after which the students visited the Agro Cold Storage and the Agriculture Research Engineering (ARE) Workshop to familiarize themselves with the structure and functioning of these sections.

Over the next few days, the participants will be exposed to various technical wings including the Mushroom Production Unit, Plant Health Clinic, Fertilizers Unit, Soil Testing Laboratory and Pesticides Laboratory. They will also visit applied agriculture facilities such as the Apiculture Unit, Seed Testing Laboratory and Protective Cultivation (Green Houses). A dedicated field visit to Chakroi Farm has been scheduled to provide on-ground experience of modern agricultural practices, demonstrations and farm management activities.

The programme will conclude on November 21 with a concluding ceremony and certificate distribution. The proceedings of the inaugural programme were conducted by Information Officer FTC, Guldev Raj and Subject Matter Specialist, Arun Khajuria, who coordinated the event and guided the participants throughout the session.