Seek careers in Agriculture, Rubber Board Chairperson urges youth

Mrs. Sheela Thomas exhorted the youth to take up professional career in Agriculture sector, instead of going after traditional careers. Also, the professionals in Agriculture should reach out to farming levels directly. There are many professional courses in the sector. She was speaking after inaugurating the Agri Wisdom seminar focusing on the development and sustainable growth of agriculture sector in Kerala, organised under the aegis of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with ICICI Bank, Coir Board and Rubber Board. Adding that the State is poised for a resurgence in the sector, Sheela Thomas mentioned that there is substantial delay in making available the products of Research Institutes to the farm level. If the trend is reversed, productivity would increase which will lead to quality products. In his Keynote address, former Kerala Agriculture University VC K R Vishwambharan said the non-availability of land for cultivation is one of the biggest challenges faced by the farmers. “The government should take steps to make sure that the price for the land for agriculture purpose is fixed in a reasonable way. The policies of the government should be changed in this regard”, he said. ICCI President Prakash James and ICICI Bank Zonal head T V Narayanan also spoke. A motivational session was handled by Dynamic Results Managing Director Christopher C Doyle. Senior journalist Sreekumar Raghavan moderated a panel discussion on the topic – Kerala, a hub of agri products. The panellists included Philip Kuruvila, Chairman, World Spice Organisation, Kumaraswamy Pillai, Director – Marketing, Coir Board, Sasi Varma, Executive Director, Cashew Export Promotion Council, and Ganesh, South Zonal Head, ICICI Bank.