AGC ORGANIZED A WORKSHOP ON 'RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE FIELD' BY PROF RAWAL

Despite being familiar with agricultural processes, the agriculture business is becoming more data-centric and demands precise, more cutting-edge data and technologies nowadays. The agriculture industry is being advanced by various information and advanced communication technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT). The rapid emergence of these advanced technologies has restructured almost all other industries, as well as advanced agriculture, which has shifted the industry from a statistical approach to a quantitative one.

Amritsar Group of Colleges organized a Two Day Workshop on “Recent Advancement in Agriculture Field” on 14th and 15th December, 2022 with an aim to expand the students’ experience with the impact of research, growth and contributions. Dr. Indermohan Singh Rawal ji, Prof. University of Saskatchewan, Canada & University of Regina at Northlands College, Canada was the resource person who guided the students to improve their hands-on skills through the modern technologies of agriculture-drone and satellite imagining. He gave a vivid description on the challenges and opportunities of the latest technology in Indian agriculture.
Dr. Jatinder Singh Gill (Chief Agriculture Officer, Amritsar Department of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Punjab), Dr. Tajinder Singh (Deputy Director Horticulture Amritsar), Dr. Bikramjeet Singh (Deputy Director- Training, KVK, Amritsar), Dr. Balwinder Kumar (Associate Director-Agronomy), Dr. Mastinderjit Singh (Ex-Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Punjab), Dr. Anil Kumar (Assistant Professor (Soil Science), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tarn Taran), Dr. Rashpal Singh (Agriculture Development Officer, Amritsar Department of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Punjab), Mr. Sukhraj Singh Sidhu (ADO, Jandiala Guru), Mr. Gurjeet Singh (ADO, Verka) and Mr. Lovepreet Singh (ADO, Jandiala Guru) graced the occasion with their kind presence. Along with them, some progressive farmers and Sarpanch from the region were also present there who expressed their satisfaction for this training programme indicating its relevance in present day agriculture and discussed the making of agriculture drones.
Dr. Tajinder Singh opined that there is urgent need to train the officials to properly equip the farmers with modern technologies.

Advocate Amit Sharma, Chairman AGC said," Technology adoption, however, is a broad concept. It is affected by the development, dissemination and application at the farm level of existing and new biological, chemical and mechanical techniques, all of which are encompassed in farm capital and other inputs and nowadays it has become mandatory to adopt the latest trends in the field. Highlighting the significance of technology in agriculture, Madam Ragini Sharma, Director Finance- AGC said," It is a concept that can have different implications in terms of appropriate technologies whether it is viewed at the farm level, at the agri-food sector level, or in the context of the overall domestic or global economy." Principal Dr. V. K. Banga said," Technologies are increasingly being developed in a global market, applied at the farm level but impacting on sustainability beyond the farm and such workshops create awareness regarding the latest trends in technology."
Deans, Heads and Faculty of various departments attended the workshop highlighting the impact of technology in the modern field.

One of the key policy conclusions of the workshop was that technologies for sustainable agriculture cover the whole spectrum of farming systems.