Director
General underlines soil health problems and job opportunities in agriculture;
Pro-Chancellor stresses fertiliser security as foundation of food security
New Delhi : The
Fertiliser Association of India (FAI), Northern Region, in collaboration with
the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FASC), SGT University, Gurugram,
organised a Fertiliser Orientation Program for final and pre-final year
agriculture students. 138 students attended the program, which was inaugurated
by Prof. B.J. Rao, Pro-Chancellor, SGT University.
Prof. B.J.
Rao, in his inaugural address, underlined that fertiliser security is directly
linked to food security, stressing the importance of understancrisding plant
physiology, nutrient absorption, and the vital role fertilisers play in
improving farm productivity. He expressed confidence that programs of this
nature keep students current with both the science and the sector.
Dr. Suresh
Kumar Chaudhari, Director General, FAI,
who delivered the Keynote Address, drew attention to a challenge the sector can
no longer defer. "India's net cultivated area stands at around 140 million
hectares and there is limited scope to expand it further. The only path to
higher agricultural production is through better yields and that requires
moving beyond traditional fertilisers toward organic, bio, nano, fortified, and
customised alternatives," he said.
Dr. Chaudhari
also flagged India's significant import dependence for fertiliser raw materials
and finished products, noting that the industry working closely with the
government has managed to ensure fertiliser availability for farmers even
through recent geopolitical disruptions.
On the
opportunity side, the DG struck an encouraging note for the student audience.
The agriculture sector, he said, offers enormous career opportunities that are
still being underutilised by graduates and the time to tap them is now.
Seven
presentations were made by resource persons from the fertiliser sector and
CFQC&TI, Faridabad. Three students were awarded FAI publications for their
performance in a quiz competition held during the program.
Dr. Pooja
Pant, Dean, FASC and Dr. R.K. Yadav, Professor (NRM), FASC, SGT University also
addressed the participants.