Stakeholder workshop on ‘Digital Inclusion of Rural Youth’ Organized

10th march 2022, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu

ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore organized a stakeholder workshop on ‘Digital Inclusion of Rural Youth’ t at Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals Ltd. Mundiyampakkam today.

Inaugurating the workshop,  Dr. Sibnath Deb, Director, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumpudur, said the digital divide between rural and urban areas is still large which could be bridged only by improving the rural connectivity infrastructure. Lack of ICT access and lack of digital competency may lead to digital exclusion of sugarcane farmers, he added.

Dr. G.Hemaprabha, Director, ICAR-SBI in her Presidential briefed about the efforts  of the Institute  agricultural communication since its establishment in 1912. Mentioning that over 65 % of the Indian population is under 35 years of age, she said that young farmers should turn entrepreneurs for getting increased profits.

Mentioning that this workshop is being organized as part of the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development-funded research project on “Digital Inclusion of Rural Youth – a comparative assessment”, Dr. D. Puthira Prathap, Principal Scientist and Principal Investigator of the project said that the project was implemented in Sivaganga and Villupuram, which have been identified as backward districts  and in Tirunelveli and Erode, which have been identified as non-backward districts of Tamil Nadu.

The Workshop participants shared their experiences by using digital tools.

An interactive session, "farmer-development personnel-scientist” was also held during the occasion. interactive session and was handled by experts from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’

Participants were given the seed material of the recently released Co 11015 cane variety.

(Source: ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore)