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Additional chief secy Tewari takes charge as PAU V-C
Tewari said his appointment as V-C is a stopgap arrangement, and a search committee has been constituted to appoint a suitable candidate for the post
Anirudh Tewari, additional chief secretary (development) took formal charge as the vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Thursday.
Addressing media, he said the focus of the government is to develop Punjab as the seed capital of the nation.
He added that his appointment as vice-chancellor was a stopgap arrangement, and a search committee has been constituted to appoint a suitable candidate for the post.
Tewari, who is also the financial commissioner development (FCD), said the university could play the role of the bridge between farmers and industry, “We will endeavour to strengthen the extension service network of the agricultural university. I see that a strong linkage needs to be there between academia, industry, and extension department so that research of PAU could reach the farmers at the earliest.”
He lauded the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technique recommended by PAU and said it has been a successful model. “Not only has the technique saved 20 to 50% groundwater, it has also saved the input cost of farmers by ₹3,000 per acre. Last year, paddy was sown under five hectares of land through the DSR technique. We are yet to receive the report on the area covered under DSR this year,” said Tewari.
Tewari called upon the agri-experts to come up with a course for progressive farmers in the field of horticulture.
He further stated, “We need to take the farmers out of this monoculture of wheat-paddy and give new options to them for diversification.” “The entire focus of the research has been on productivity. But despite high productivity, we are unable to meet the returns, which farmers expect,” he observed.
Tewari said,“Punjab is the most prosperous state and is dependent on the farming community. If we have a prosperous farming community, it will help generate employment in the state.”
