•Urges youth to turn local agricultural challenges into startups and jobs
•Calls for greater use of AI, technology and innovation to transform agriculture
•Says women-led enterprises and rural entrepreneurship key to self-reliant J&K
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday inaugurated new infrastructure facilities at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)-Jammu and launched the Startup Outreach Programme under JKCIP, calling for greater innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied sectors.
New centres, hostel and laboratories inaugurated at SKUAST-Jammu
LG urges youth to build local solutions and create employment
The newly inaugurated facilities include the Unnati Girls Hostel, Centre for AI and ML in Agriculture, Centre for Mushroom Research and Innovation, Advanced Sericulture Laboratory, and Centre for Digital Media and Publication.
Addressing students, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and farmers from across Jammu division, the Lieutenant Governor said the facilities represented an investment in the region’s young innovators, researchers and farming community.
Highlighting the growing role of technology in agriculture globally, Sinha referred to innovations in countries such as the Netherlands, Israel, New Zealand and Brazil. He, however, stressed that Jammu and Kashmir should develop solutions based on its own agricultural conditions and challenges.
“Different countries have innovated for their own problems, and now it is time for Jammu Kashmir to innovate for its own questions and challenges,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor said agriculture and allied sectors have emerged as a major frontier for innovation and entrepreneurship and called upon students to understand local farming practices, climate conditions and farmers’ problems before developing solutions.
He also highlighted a shift in employment aspirations among India’s youth, saying that young people are increasingly looking towards creating employment rather than merely seeking jobs.
“Your degree is not your destination; rather, it is like a runway for your flight of success,” Sinha said, urging students to convert ideas into startups through knowledge, curiosity, courage and sustained effort.
He said the true meaning of a self-reliant Jammu Kashmir would be realised when young people become employers according to their abilities and talents.
The Lieutenant Governor also called for greater diversification in agriculture and encouraged young farmers to explore cold chains, grading and packaging, regional branding and digital marketplaces to expand the reach of local produce to national and international markets.
Emphasising women’s participation in entrepreneurship, Sinha said no entrepreneurship revolution could be complete without women being equal partners. He called for greater support to women-led Self-Help Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations through access to finance, technology and markets.
On the Startup Outreach Programme, the Lieutenant Governor said the initiative would take concepts such as incubation, mentoring and venture capital to young people and farmers in rural and remote areas.
He said SKUAST-Jammu had so far selected more than 150 students for idea incubation and supported 56 startups, and urged the university to expand its outreach further.
“The real success of SKUAST-Jammu will not be measured only by how many students graduate from here, but by how many new ideas are born here, how many solutions are developed here, how many enterprises are established here, and how many farming families’ lives are positively changed,” he said.
Sinha urged students to continuously ask themselves four questions: what problem they can solve, what enterprise they can build, what value they can add to agriculture and how many families can benefit from their ideas.
He expressed confidence that Jammu Kashmir would increasingly gain recognition for innovation, agricultural entrepreneurship, science, technology and youth leadership.
“Do not make your dreams small. Do not let your circumstances become the limits of your future,” the Lieutenant Governor told the students.
During the event, Sinha felicitated eight startups, FPOs and cooperative/rural enterprises for their contribution to agriculture, allied sectors, value addition and rural enterprise development.
Four publications were also released, including Policy Document for Promoting Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in J&K, Chronicle of Innovation &Startups under RKVY-RAFTAAR, SKUAST-Jammu, Value on the Vine: Economic and Market Dynamics of Vegetables and Student’s Rural Exploration Programme (SREP).
Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Shailendra Kumar; Vice Chancellor SKUAST-Jammu Prof. B.N. Tripathi; Director Extension Dr.AmrishVaid; Registrar Dr. Anil Kumar; faculty members, senior officials, students, scientists, entrepreneurs and representatives of startups, FPOs and cooperatives were present.
