No industry can ensure employment to all and there is a need to diversify agriculture as it has the potential to ensure livelihood security. Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, Vice-Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here said on Tuesday.

The time has come to look back on the dwindling returns of agriculture and strive to resurrect the farm sector in search of a lasting solution to the continuing agrarian problem, Prof. Roul iterated.

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“The agriculture we have pursued was based on quick returns which had led to permanent damage to the soil while depletion of ground water and deterioration in the air quality had further aggravated the situation,” Prof. Roul said while addressing the inaugural program of the three-day ‘SOA Agri-Confluence’ which began at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), faculty of agricultural sciences of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA).

“Agriculture involves both food and livelihood and is dependent on soil, water, air and environment where we have suffered both quantitative and qualitative losses over past decades,” he said adding climate change had led to reduction in Odisha’s annual rainfall from 1500 mm to around 1300 to 1350 mm now.

The program was also attended by SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Dean of IAS Prof. Santosh Kumar Rout, Dean (Students’ Welfare) Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das and Professor in the Department of Plant Physiology and Convenor of the event, Prof. Saroj Kumar Mohanty.

Prof. Nanda said all research was intended to benefit the society and SOA was committed to this goal. Being a multidisciplinary university, SOA had the needed infrastructure to conduct research involving different disciplines, he said.

Prof. Rout said IAS aimed at developing a roadmap for Odisha to support sustainable agriculture and livelihood security.

The event included panel discussions, poster presentation, interaction between farmers and agricultural experts, agricultural exhibition, agricultural start-up meet and a technology demonstration corridor. Besides, debates, agricultural quiz, on the spot painting and rangoli competitions were being held on the sideline for student participants from different institutions. Dr. Ashuman Jena of IAS coordinated the event.