Policy for agri technical training institutes needed: Gopalakrishnan

Says the govt should have a policy to promote ATTIs

At a time when 'Make in India' and 'Skills India' are being discussed, R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons has proposed promoting 'Food in India' through setting up of agriculture technical training institutes (ATTIs) to promote skilling and modernisation of agriculture in the country.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) Annual Awards, Gopalakrishnan said, "There is a lot of talk on 'Make in India' and technical skills but nobody is talking about 'Food in India' and food or agricultural skills. If we can have ITIs, then why not ATTIs? Government should have a policy to promote ATTIs."

Elaborating on the ATTI model, Gopalakrishnan said that the same could be set up based on factors like government policy, entrepreneurial approach and market demand.

"If private entrepreneurs can open ATTIs, it can generate lot of employment in agriculture sector with young people encouraged to stay back in rural areas for jobs. The opportunity to train in agriculture and food is very large," he stated while adding that the subject would generally fall between the skills ministry and agriculture ministry in the government.

According to Gopalakrishnan, private entrepreneurs can set up state-of-the-art training institutes to impart training to rural youth in modern agricultural, food production, marketing and other skills to be deployed across the food value chain.

Among the suggested areas of training include that of seed technology, pest management, nutrient management, best practices, packaging, processing, and transportation, among others.