India's agrarian prosperity linked to IT:Bhatkar

Akola, Jan 29 (UNI) The architect of 'param supercomputers,' Dr Vijay Bhatkar, today said information technology (IT) can herald a second agricultural revolution in the country.

He was delivering the 21st convocation address of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth here.

''The Central and State Governments can utilise information and communication technology (ICT) for controlling open market price movement of essential commodities. Most importantly, it can connect farmers directly to national markets and offer fair prices to them.

''It is a matter of great shame and concern that we are unable to stop farmers suicide, for which the main reason is debt-trap,'' he lamented.

''By introducing ICT in agriculture we can develop low-cost hybrid power solutions combining battery inverter, windmill, solar panel, diesel and bio-mass based generators to overcome the perenial problem of power shortage in most villages,'' he observed.

The chairman of the Agriculture Scientist Recruitment Board (ASRB) Dr C D Mayee said that every state agricultural university should promote agricultural education by encouraging innovation in teaching, research and technology integration.

On the occasion, vice-chancellor Dr S A Nimbalkar advised his students to adopt virtues like integrity, desire to achieve perfection and make relentless efforts for progress in agriculture.

UNI