A web based online international training on “Automation and Robotics in Agriculture” has been organized by the Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The 10-day international training is being conducted under the aegis of the School of Natural Resource Management (SNRM), a project sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the umbrella of National Higher Education Project-Centre of Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology (NAHEP-CAAST), which is operational at PAU. Selected young faculty, representatives of industry research scholars and students from state agricultural universities, ICAR institutes and different countries like Canada, South Korea, USA, Kenya, etc., are attending the course.
Dr AK Garg, Director, International Cooperation and Bilateral Trade, Innovation and IPR Division R&D in Electronics Group, Ministry of Electronics and IT, New Delhi, was the chief guest of the inaugural function. Dr Garg said: “Sensors, automation and artificial intelligence are going to solve most of the current problems and create opportunities in the untouched areas of Indian farming. Before you automate farm operations, you need accurate data about the state of the farm. Collection of huge chunk of farming data called big data, interpretation of the data and taking real time decisions will enable faster growth in agriculture.”
The guest of honour Dr (Mrs) GK Sangha, Dean, Postgraduate Studies, observed, “Bringing advanced technologies for their adoption at Indian farms and making them affordable are the key to success.” She said most of the agricultural technologies fall into three categories which comprise drones or UAVs, sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT); these are expected to become pillars of the smart farm.
Dr OP Choudahry, Head, Department of Soil Science and Project Investigator of the NAHEP-CAAST project, shed light on different activities conducted under SNRM. He also opined that information about the variability of different soil attributes within a field is essential for the decision-making process. He told that inability to obtain soil characteristics rapidly and inexpensively remains one of the biggest challenge for precision agriculture.
Earlier, Dr Manjeet Singh, Head, Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering and Director of International Training, welcomed the guests and the participants. He disclosed that speakers/experts, who are delivering their presentation, are from different parts of the world as well as different disciplines like computer science, electronics, agricultural engineering, agriculture, etc. Experts presenting are from Tottori University, Kyoto University and Hokkadio University, Japan; Washington State University, USA; Lincoln University, New Zealand; and Taylor’s University, Malaysia, he said. Experts from India are from IITs; Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; from industry like Mahindra Research Valley, Chennai; Green Robot Machinery Private Limited, Bangalore and of course three experts from PAU, Ludhiana, he added.
The Coordinators of international training, namely Dr Vishal Bector, Associate Director, International Linkages and Dr Aseem Verma, Scientist from the Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, were also present online during the inaugural function. |
