BAU's 46th Foundation Day: Jharkhand Governor urges students to become job providers, not seekers

RANCHI: Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Friday urged students to become job providers rather than job seekers, saying agriculture should be seen as the foundation of the country's prosperity. He was addressing the 46th Foundation Day ceremony of Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) here.

"Agriculture is not only a livelihood but also the very basis of the country's prosperity. The road to Viksit Bharat passes through the farm sector. Therefore, I urge all of you to prepare yourselves to become job providers rather than job seekers," Gangwar said.

He said the performance of BAU scientists should not be assessed by the number of research papers, seminars, workshops or training programmes, but by their impact on farm production and farmers' income.

"Assessment should focus on how much the technologies they developed have reached farmers' fields and what impact they have had on their lives," the governor said, according to an official release. Dr Sujay Rakshit, director of the Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB), Ranchi, stressed the need to reduce chemical fertiliser use and promote organic farming.

"Since tribal communities are closer to nature, increasing the area under natural farming is easier in the state compared to others. It is essential and viable because cropping intensity in Jharkhand is hardly 120 per cent compared to the national average of 140 per cent," he said. He also emphasised judicious and optimum use of available water resources.

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BAU's ICAR ranking

BAU Vice Chancellor Dr SC Dubey said the university produced over 5,000 quintals of quality seeds of cereals, pulses and oilseeds last year. It also produced about 8 lakh quality planting materials of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal and aromatic plants.

He said the university was functioning with barely 15 per cent of its sanctioned strength of regular teachers, which was affecting accreditation and the improvement of BAU's ICAR ranking. On the occasion, six retired teachers and non-teaching staff members of the university were felicitated for their contribution.

Books titled Plant Breeding & Genetics Questionnaire, authored by Dr Niraj Kumar of BAU Ranchi and Dr Shreya Sen of BAU Bhagalpur, and Thesis Abstracts of Genetics & Plant Breeding, compiled by Dr Manigopa Chakraborty and others, along with the BAU Annual Report (2025-26), were also released.