Shri. Nilesh Nalawade
India is one of the youngest countries in the world, where the proportion of the rural youth forms the majority share in India's youth population. However, in recent years unemployment rates have been on the rise.
Agriculture and allied activities constitute the bulk of the rural economy, however, its dominance has been dwindling over the years. Moreover, drastic climatic changes such as extreme floods and droughts have brought in a plethora of challenges for Indian agriculture. Therefore, engaging youth in productive and sustainable agricultural activities will help India to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend and tackle climate change.
The recent rapid technological advancements have brought with them great opportunity for disruption in the food and agriculture sectors but at the same time pose a major challenge if appropriate skilling does not happen at the same pace. In order to make the most of opportunities and efficiently tackle challenges emerging due to technological advancements and climate change in agriculture we need to inspire and empower the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow in Indian youth.
The Sharad Pawar Fellowship has been designed as a journey from inspiration to excellence in agricultural leadership for Indian youth. It will strive to be a people’s platform and aim to evolve itself into a virtual university for agrarian prosperity. It will equip the youth to harness the recent technological advances in tackling the challenges that pose to Indian agriculture due to climate change, unemployment and growing population.
In the first year the fellowship will focus on climate resilient agriculture, effective monetization of produce to increase farmers income, chemical residue free fruits and vegetables and preventing the attack of wild animals on crops as the key priority areas. The 21 day bootcamp will give the fellows an opportunity to hands on learn new and diverse technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, animal genetic improvement, high tech poly house etc. The following year-long mentorship will help the fellows deep dive into specific problems along with the right resources to prepare and achieve SMART GOALS related to those problems. The fellowship will also provide soft skills that will help the fellows become leaders and changemakers of tomorrow in the food and agriculture sector.
We look forward to your participation in the Sharad Pawar Fellowship!