Agartala, February 17, 2024: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Tripura Regional Office, Agartala organized a seminar on ‘Use of technology in Agriculture and Rural Development’ at a 5-star hotel in Agartala on Saturday. The seminar was attended by eminent experts, academicians, government officials, bankers, students, and representatives of various organizations working in the field of agriculture and rural development.
The key objective of the seminar was to enlighten the participants of the seminar on use of technology in agriculture, startups in the field of agriculture, entrepreneurial potential in the sector, accelerating growth in the sector, climate challenges and climate resilient agriculture, promotion of rural enterprises, development of handloom and handicrafts towards enhancing income of rural households, technology and frugal innovation for promotion of rural enterprise, and to enthuse the youths to undertake self-employment in the sector.
Apurba Roy, IAS, Secretary, Department of Finance and Agriculture, Govt. of Tripura was the chief guest in the seminar. Loken Das, GM/OIC, NABARD; Dr.Jitendra Kumar, MD, BIRAC, Govt of India; Prasada Rao, IFS; Dr. Utpal Bora, Professor, IIT Guwahati; Dr. Kishor Goswami, Professor, IIT Kharagpur; Dr. Bibhuti Ranjan Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor, IIT Roorkee, Dr. Ratan Saha, Vice Chancellor, Techno India University, Tripura; Diganta Kumar Das, DGM, NABARD were the distinguished guests of honour. Dean, College of Fisheries; Principal, College of Agriculture; MD’ Tripura StCB, Head, ICAR, Tripura; government officials, bank officials, students from different universities and representatives of KVKs, FPOs, NGOs and officials of NABARD, Tripura RO were present in the Seminar.
The seminar began with Diganta Kumar Das, DGM, NABARD welcoming the participants mentioning that this seminar marks a historic occasion as the first of its kind organized by NABARD in Tripura.
In his introductory speech, Loken Das, GM/OIC, NABARD stressed the significance of technology in agriculture and allied sectors. He highlighted NABARD’s interventions in agriculture and rural development in Tripura including promotion of bamboo marketing bags by beneficiaries of the Tribal Development Project in North Tripura. He emphasized the importance of enhancing agricultural production and reducing production costs.
During his address, Apurba Roy, IAS, the Chief Guest, commended NABARD for hosting this significant seminar in Tripura, stressing its necessity in the agricultural sector. He highlighted the challenges faced by the agriculture, industry and proposed solutions through innovative technologies like drones, automation, and sensor usage. Emphasizing the importance of technology in processing, post-harvest management, and marketing, he underscored its role in minimizing post-harvest losses and enhancing overall efficiency in the agricultural value chain. Roy’s speech emphasized the critical need for embracing technological advancements to overcome the challenges and unlock the sector’s full potential for sustainable development in Tripura.
The invited guests deliberated on different aspects of technology use in agriculture and rural development. Dr. Jitendra Kumar, MD, BIRAC discussed about the use of technology for sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship. He also discussed about the initiatives and support provided by BIRAC and indicated that suitable proposals from Tripura considered as North East is a priority area. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is the nodal body of Govt. of India to promote Biotechnology Innovations in the country. Dr. Kishore Goswami, Professor and Head (Humanities) IIT-Kharagpur focused on value addition in agriculture in North-East India, especially in Tripura as one of the key approaches to fast track agricultural development. Dr. Utpal Bora, Professor, IIT Guwahati highlighted climate change challenges and solutions for resilient agriculture in the region. Dr. Bibhuti Ranjan Bhattacharjee emphasized on technology and frugal innovation for rural enterprise promotion, with a focus on handloom and handicrafts. Overall, the presentations provided insights into leveraging technology to address challenges and promote sustainable development in agriculture and rural areas.
On the occasion, a mobile application was launched by the Chief Guest Apurba Roy, IAS. The application was developed by the financial assistance of NABARD. It aims to empower the farming community of Tripura as well as the consumers by providing real-time inputs and price information on produce in the market across the state.
