Delhi To Host International Conference On Blended Learning Ecosystem For Higher Education in Agriculture Today

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding, and managing agricultural research and education, and the World Bank announced today the first International Conference on 'Blended Learning Ecosystem for Higher Education in Agriculture' in India as part of the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP). The three-day event, which will be held in New Delhi from March 21-23, will be hosted by ICAR - IASRI (Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute), which is a multi-partner global forum to support collaboration for the development of a cutting-edge blended education system for higher agricultural education.

The goal of this conference is to facilitate the creation of a global ecosystem of partners from academia, industry, government, and multilateral and bilateral organizations who can provide critical insights into the design and full-scale implementation of all aspects of the Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES) under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), including a learning management system, a content repository, and system-wide capacity building. Aside from the engaging discussions, the three-day event will also feature an exhibition on the diverse range of agricultural services and offerings, as well as blended learning.

The Hon'ble Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, will open the conference and exhibition. Various other ministries, as well as world-class institutions such as AICTE, IIT, and IRRI, will take part. Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG), ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Dr. R.C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, and Dr. Auguste Tano Kouame, Country Director, The World Bank are among the distinguished speakers at the conference.

"According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the agriculture sector in India contributes 17-18% of the Gross Value (GVA) added to the economy and employs more than 40% of the workforce," said Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG), ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. "Farmers are implementing new technologies to improve crop health and production. Truly blended learning adoption has enormous potential and has the potential to propel the agriculture economy to new heights."

Dr. R.C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General of the Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), stated that "The conference's goal is to improve collaboration among various implementing agencies working in the fields of remote learning, digital education, and blended education systems. It will also aid in the establishment of synergies with flagship programs such as Digital India and Skill India to accelerate the deployment of NAHEP's Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES)."

The conference is organized around thematic areas such as blended teaching-learning strategies, blended learning technologies, blended learning ecosystem sustainability, building stakeholder capacities to navigate in a blended teaching-learning ecosystem, and contemporary curriculum for agricultural education. NAHEP, which was proposed by the World Bank and the Government of India on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis, was developed by ICAR with a total cost of US$ 165 million for five years in the fiscal year 2017-18. It was undertaken to strengthen the country's National Agricultural Education System.

- PTI 

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