The School of Agriculture (SOA) was established in 2005 with a mission to improve and sustain the quality of human life and productivity of Agriculture and allied sectors through Open and Distance education.
Vision:
Extend outreach of agriculture education by harnessing convergence between ODL and conventional system through national and international linkages.
Mission:
Improve and sustain the quality of human life and productivity of Agriculture and Allied Sectors through ODL.
Presently School has three disciplines namely Agricultural Production System; Agriculture Economics & Extension; and Food Science & Technology. There are 7 faculty members coordinating 18 ODL and one on-line programmes and 7 MOOCs in the area of Agriculture and allied sectors at different levels. The School also organises need based training programmes, undertakes systemic research and fosters collaborations with different organisations to disseminate education and build skills in agriculture and allied sectors. The School is coordinating one SWAYAM PRABHA Channel.
To strengthen the human resource in agriculture and allied sector through ODL;
To provide equitable quality education in agriculture to marginalized and disadvantaged groups;
To enhance knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial capabilities for livelihood security;
To use ICT in improving outreach and effectiveness of distance education in agriculture;
To conduct research in emerging areas for effective technology transfer and adoption;
To established national and international linkages in agriculture education and knowledge management for sustainable development;
To plan and conduct research and training through ODL in agriculture production and management system under different locations including North-Eastern Regions; and
To develop and maintain an open repository of agricultural educational resources.
The University’s Board of Management in its 74th meeting held on 28/02/2003 approved the establishment of School of Agriculture.
The School of Agriculture came into existence in 2005.
The School started with 2 programmes in 2005 and currently offering 19 programmes including Ph.D., PG, UG, Diploma and Certificate programmes.
The School is also offering one on-line programme and 7 MOOCs.
The School signed MoU with different organizations:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI)
Central Silk Board
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative
Agriculture Skill Council of India
Institute of Cost Accountants of India
The School received grant-in-aid from the following Organisation:
National Horticulture Mission, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI• Department of Land Resources, MoRD, GOI
Department of Land Resources, MoRD, GOI
Ministry of Food Processing Industries, GOI
The School is involved in teaching, research and extension activities.
The School has conducted more than 50 need-based training programmes including two model training programmes for extension functionaries funded by Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI.
The School had completed one NAIP-ICAR Research Project.
The School organised one International Conference and one Regional Seminar.
The School has established one Study Centre in the School of Agriculture and food processing lab.
The agriculture sector has been evolving rapidly, particularly over the last 20-25 years. Farmers are increasingly using high-cost inputs to achieve higher production per unit area. They not only work hard to maximize production but also aim for more returns from the available farm resources. The continuous advancement of technology and innovation in the agriculture sector necessitates the upgradation of knowledge and skills among farmers and rural communities. Ensuring access to quality agricultural education at the doorstep of farmers and rural youth is the need of the hour to empower them.
In this direction, a significant step was taken in 2005 with the establishment of the School of Agriculture at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).The mission of the school is to improve and sustain productivity and enhance the quality of human life in rural areas through the Open and Distance Learning System (ODL) in agriculture and allied Sectors.
The School of Agriculture offers a total of 18 education programmes in agriculture, keeping in view the requirements of the farming community, rural youth, women, unemployed youths, technicians, entrepreneurs and working professionals. These educational programmes are significant for sensitization, building employable skills, entrepreneurship development and capacity building. Agribusiness management, food safety, agriculture policy, agri cost management, value addition and processing of fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat technology, watershed management, horticulture, sericulture, water harvesting, poultry farming, beekeeping, organic farming and dairy farming are important areas covered for imparting agricultural education through open and distance learning.
The School of Agriculture is actively working to develop more such programmes that directly impact the income of farming communities and enhance employability. Additionally, these programmes cater to the needs of agro-based industries by providing trained human resources at technician, supervisory and managerial levels.
The School focuses on transforming agriculture as an industry and enterprise, sharing resources, promoting start-ups, and organising outreach activities. Together, these efforts are important for transformative growth in Indian agriculture. The institutions and academic bodies may extend their consistent support in enhancing the reach of agricultural education to geographically remote and far-flung areas, particularly to disadvantaged sections of society.
Thank you and best wishes.
With regards,
Prof. Praveen Kumar Jain,
Director, School of Agriculture
Director
School of Agriculture
Block G-2, Academic Complex,
IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068
Email: soa@ignou.ac.in
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Photo
Staff Details
1
Prof. Praveen Kumar Jain
Designation:
Professor
Specialization:
Agricultural Economics
Email Id:
pkjain@ignou.ac..in
Brief Profile:
Prof. Praveen Kumar Jain, Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics has developed and presently coordinating MBA (Agribuiness Management), PG Diploma in Agribusiness Management, PG Certificate in Agriculture Policy and Diploma in Agricultural Cost Management programmes. He has developed and offered seven Massive Open Online Courses through SWAYAM platform. Implemented ICAR-NAIP sponsored research project “Innovations in Technology Mediated Learning: An Institutional Capacity Building in Re-Usable Learning Object Technology in Agro-Horticulture” as Principal Investigator. Conducted six training programmes for farmers, rural youth, and extension functionaries. He has organised one International Conference “Agriculture Education and Knowledge Management” as Co-organizing Secretary and one Regional Conference on “Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Development” as Organizing Secretary. He has participated in two international training programmes at USA and Canada on reusable learning objects technology under NAIP project. He has participated in 56 Seminars/Conferences/Workshops. He has published 45 research papers, 4 books and 8 book chapters. His areas of interest include Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Policy, Open and Distance Learning, Agricultural Marketing, and Agriculture Extension.
Attachments:
Designation: Professor Specialization:Agricultural Economics
, pkjain@ignou.ac..in
2
Prof. Shailendra Kumar Yadav
Designation:
Professor
Specialization:
Agronomy
Email Id:
skyadav@ignou.ac.in
Brief Profile:
Prof. Shailendra Kumar Yadav completed his PhD degree in Agronomy from G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. He specializes in Weed Science, Organic and Natural Farming. He had worked as ARS scientist in Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) from 1998 to 2006. In 2006, he joined at School of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU), as a Reader in Agricultural Production System. From 2012, he is working as a Professor in the School of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU). He has published a total of 15 Research papers and have attended many seminars and sympoia. Presently, he is coordinating three programmes under Open and Distance Learning viz, Diploma in Horticulture, Certificate in Organic Farming and Certificate in Beekeeping.
Attachments:
Designation: Professor Specialization:Agronomy
, skyadav@ignou.ac.in
3
Prof. Vijayakumar P.
Designation:
Professor
Specialization:
Livestock Production Management (LPM)
Email Id:
pvkumar@ignou.ac.in
Brief Profile:
Dr. Vijayakumar obtained his B.V.Sc. & A.H. from Pondicherry University, M.V.Sc. (Livestock Production Management - LPM) from Kerala Agricultural University and Ph.D. (LPM) from Indian Vetereinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly. He has more than 18 years’ of experience in Teaching, Research and Extension in the area of Livestock Production Management, Distance Education, and Food Safety. Currently, he is working as Professor in the School of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. He has made significant contribution in designing course curriculum of various educational programmes at different levels viz. awareness, certificate, diploma, UG degree and PG Degree. He has developed educational programmes in the areas of Dairy Farming, Sericulture, Poultry Farming, Value Added Products from Fruits and Vegetables, Fish Products Technology, and Food Safety & Quality Management. Currently, he is coordinating five Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes viz. Bachelor of Science (Food Safety and Quality Management) (BSCFFSQM), Diploma in Dairy Technology (DDT), Certificate in Sericulture (CIS), Certificate in Poultry Farming (CPF) and Awareness Programme on Dairy Farming (APDF). He is also coordinating a MOOC on "Introduction to Poultry Farming" in the SWAYAM Platform. He has published 15 research papers in peer reviewed national & international journals and participated in national & international conferences. He has also contributed to 3 book chapters. He has organized a number of training programmes in different subjects like poultry farming, fish farming, watershed management, soil and water conservation, sericulture etc.
Attachments:
Designation: Professor Specialization:Livestock Production Management (LPM)
, pvkumar@ignou.ac.in
4
Prof. Mukesh Kumar
Designation:
Professor
Specialization:
Agricultural Engineering (Soil and Water Conservation Engineering)
Email Id:
mkumar@ignou.ac.in
Brief Profile:
Dr. Mukesh Kumar obtained his B. Tech. (Agricultural Engineering) and M. Tech. (Soil and Water Engineering) from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering with specialization in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He has more than 18 years’ experience in Teaching and Research and Extension in the area of Watershed Management, Water Management and Drip Irrigation. Presently he is working as Professor in Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. He has made significant contribution in designing course curriculum of various educational programmes at different levels viz. awareness, certificate, diploma, UG degree and PG Degree.
He has developed number of educational programmes in the field of solar water pumping system, water management, watershed management and food safety & quality management at national level. Presently he is coordinating four programmes viz Bachelor of Science (Food Safety and Quality Management) (BSCFFSQM), Diploma in watershed Management (DWM), Diploma in Value Added Products from Fruits and Vegetables (DVAPFV), Certificate in Water Harvesting and Management (CWHM), Awareness Programme in Solar Water Pumping System (APSWP). He has published 50 research papers in peer reviewed national & international journals and participated in 38 national & international conferences. He has also contributed more than 22 book chapters and published three book and two extension manuals. He has organized number of national and international conferences as Organizing Secretary /Co-organizing Secretary/ member organizing committee. He has received Ph.D. Student Incentive Award-2012 award, Gold Medal-2014, Special Research Award-2016 and National Fellow-2019 from Soil Conservation Society of India. Fertilizer Association of India has awarded him with Golden Jubilee Award for Doctoral Research in Fertilizer Uses in 2013 for outstanding research work on dynamics of nutrient movement in soil under fertigation during Ph.D. He has also honored with University Silver Medal-2015 by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India. Dr. Kumar is a life member of different professional societies and actively involved in Indian Society of Soil and Water Conservation, New Delhi. He was Joint Secretary and presently holding position of Treasure in Soil Conservation Society of India, New Delhi.
Attachments:
Designation: Professor Specialization:Agricultural Engineering (Soil and Water Conservation Engineering)
, mkumar@ignou.ac.in
5
Dr. Mita Sinhamahapatra
Designation:
Associate Professor
Specialization:
Animal Products Technology and Marketing (APTM)
Email Id:
mitasinhamahapatra@ignou.ac.in
Attachments:
Designation: Associate Professor Specialization:Animal Products Technology and Marketing (APTM)
, mitasinhamahapatra@ignou.ac.in
6
Dr. Dinkar B. Kamble
Designation:
Assistant Professor
Specialization:
Food Science and Technology
Email Id:
dinkar_soa@ignou.ac.in
Attachments:
Designation: Assistant Professor Specialization:Food Science and Technology
, dinkar_soa@ignou.ac.in
7
Dr.Chaithra N.R.
Designation:
Assistant Professor
Specialization:
Agricultural Extension
Email Id:
chaithranr@ignou.ac.in
Attachments:
Designation: Assistant Professor Specialization:Agricultural Extension
, chaithranr@ignou.ac.in
