Prabhu Pingali Favours Shifting Crop Focus to Bridge Nutrition Gaps
Vice Chancellor Aldas Janaiah announced a 15 per cent reservation in undergraduate seats for children of farm labourers, a first for PJTSAU. He also said the fee for special quota seats had been reduced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, easing access to agricultural education.
Hyderabad: International agricultural economist Prabhu Pingali, conferred an honorary doctorate by Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) on Monday, said India’s challenge had shifted from food production to nutrition security, urging changes in cropping patterns and stronger support for small and marginal farmers.
Pingali said gaps in the production of pulses and coarse grains continued to affect nutrition outcomes, even as India emerged as a food-exporting nation. He stressed the need for crop diversification, improved storage and marketing systems, and wider access to technology and extension services at the farm level.
His remarks came at PJTSAU’s joint convocation, which cleared three pending ceremonies — the 56th, 57th and 58th — after a gap of three years. Degrees were awarded to 2,135 undergraduate students, 480 postgraduates and 129 PhD scholars. Gold medals were presented to 64 undergraduate students, 26 postgraduates and six doctoral scholars.
Vice Chancellor Aldas Janaiah announced a 15 per cent reservation in undergraduate seats for children of farm labourers, a first for PJTSAU. He also said the fee for special quota seats had been reduced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, easing access to agricultural education.
Prof. Janaiah highlighted that university scientists had reached about 1,200 villages and interacted with over 1.2 lakh farmers through the Raithu Mungitlo Shastravettalu programme. New agricultural colleges have been opened at Kodangal, Nizamabad and Huzurnagar, alongside expanded international collaborations, including with Western Sydney University, contributing to an improvement in PJTSAU’s national ranking.