ICAR-CIARI marks Agriculture Education Day with weeklong student outreach

chennai/port blair: icar-central island agricultural research institute (ciari) celebrated agriculture education day on wednesday with a series of weeklong activities aimed at creating awareness about agriculture and allied sciences among school students.the events, held from november 27 to december 3, commemorated the birth anniversary of india's first president and former union agriculture minister dr. rajendra prasad. as part of the celebrations, students visited the icar-ciari campus at garacharma for a technology expo, where they were introduced to facilities such as the fisheries museum, integrated farming system, livestock farm, butterfly museum and the library. they also interacted with scientists during demonstrations.at the valedictory function, dr. dilip kumar jha, scientist-f and officer-in-charge, niot, sri vijaya puram, participated as the chief guest. he lauded ciari's contributions to island agriculture and urged students to pursue careers aligned with their interests. highlighting emerging opportunities in agri-startups, he encouraged students to visit scientific institutions and engage with researchers. he also congratulated prize winners and participants of various competitions.ciari director dr. jai sunder called upon students to explore diverse fields within agriculture, noting the growing integration of ai, robotics, drones and sensors in modern farming.programme nodal officer dr. karunakaran welcomed the participants, while dr. sharath s. yeligar delivered the vote of thanks.