The Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture celebrated its 13th Convocation Ceremony at its campus in Hyderabad recently.
The institute has been contributing towards the development of scientific farming and creating a talent pool of skilled agricultural professionals, according to a press note.
Richard van der Merwe, senior Bayer representative, Bayer Group in India, who was present as the chief guest, stated, “Agriculture is a sector that is crucial on many counts. It determines the performance of our economy, ensures food availability and nutritional security, creates rural employment and boosts income. Agriculture should be seen as a noble and desirable profession by young people.”
He added, “Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture is a significant step in this right direction. The institution took shape as a part of Bayer’s overarching objective to boost and nurture science education and to unlock the potential of bringing scientific training and education to be a part of our sustainable agricultural practices.”
Dr D N Rao, general secretary, Vignana Jyothi; Dr Kode Satyanarayana, chairman, advisory committee; Dr Arjun Rao, director; and other board members of Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture also spoke on the occasion.
“This course provided very resourceful and practical learning. We are fortunate to get practical experience at Bayer-RVJ School. We are also lucky to have very experienced teachers here,” said J Prashant from Devagiripatnam village, Warangal district, who won the ‘Best Trainee in Crop Production’ Award. The other winners were Shekar V D from Nandiwaddeman village, Mahbubnagar district, who won the ‘Best Trainee in Performance Award’ by securing 92%, and Sunil Kumar P from Theralam village, Vijayanagaram district, who won the ‘Best Trainee in Attendance Award’ (99%) respectively, in the final examination.
The school is an initiative of the Child Care Programme, the first-of-its-kind social intervention model developed and successfully implemented with a farm-based supply chain that aims at getting children off the fields of contract farmers and into the school. The institute was established as a part of Bayer CropScience overarching umbrella ‘Learning for Life’ strategy to foster (science) education globally as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme. Since its inception, 385 students have graduated from the school including the current batch.
