Chennai: With agriculture fast emerging as a competitive domain to traditional industry driven companies, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) plans to set up a full-fledged Agricultural College in the panchayat town of Acharapakkam in Chengalpattu district, its Chancellor and Perambalur MP T R Paarivendhar said.
The existing college of Agricultural Sciences in the Kattankulathur campus will be shifted within six months to the new site, Paarivendhar said speaking at the second Agri Freshers induction programme.
He said 200 acres has been earmarked in Acharapakkam for the Agricultural College where students can cultivate in a rural ambience to emerge as agri entrepreneurs instead of pursuing a career in a multi national corporation or corporate entity.
Addressing to more than 300 freshers and their parents assembled at the Dr T P Ganesan Auditorium, Paarivendhar lamented that agriculture had been looked down upon as an inferior profession for decades with families even in villages reluctant to give their girls in marriage to farmers and instead preferring bridegrooms working in corporates and All India services. “However, this perception is changing already with organic farming coming up in a big way and science and technology fast changing the face of agriculture,” he said.
SRMIST Vice Chancellor Sandeep Sancheti, Pro Vice Chancellors T P Ganesan and R Balasubramanian, registrar N Sethuraman, director- finance Balasubramanian and dean of the faculty of agricultural sciences Thyagarajan participated.