ASSAM RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND AGRICULTURAL SERVICES (ARIAS) SOCIETY

ARIAS Society: Project Coordination Unit
Assam Agricultural University (AAU)

1. Short Introduction of AAU Component

AAU is an only agricultural university in Assam situated at Jorhat having 2 Colleges of Agriculture Sciences at Jorhat & Viswanath Chariali, 2 Colleges of Veterinary Sciences at Guwahati & North Lakhimpur, 1 Home Sciences College at Jorhat and 1 Fishers College at Nagaon.

2. Highlights of Achievements under ARIAS:

  • Development of rice based cropping system with pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and horticultural crops.

  • Farming System Research to develop technologies for integrated farming by combining crop cultivation with animal husbandry, pisciculture, poultry, duckery and sericulture.

  • Development of fisheries and horticulture

  • Strengthening on-farm trials under different farming situations for testing technologies in actual farm conditions.

  • Strengthening Farm Women Training Centre at Jorhat for training of farm women in different specialized areas.

  • Orientation of extension programme towards development of farming system.

  • Infrastructure development and strengthening of the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in the six Agro-climatic Zones, Horticultural Research Stations at Kahikuchi, Livestock Research Station at Mandira and the Fisheries Research Centre at Jorhat.

3. Major items/ activities proposed under AACP

  1. Technology Development and Validation - The focus of technology development, refinement and validation work to be undertaken by the AAU will be on providing technology backstopping to Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) program in the project districts.
  2. Researchers from RARSs and KVKs in the project (and adjoining) districts and backed by staff from AAU headquarters, in collaboration with extension workers and other stakeholders, will identify the main problems affecting the agriculture sector through extensive interaction with farmers and rural communities, including participatory rural appraisals.
  3. AAU will undertake on-farm technology validation and refinement work in the ATMA districts to address the priority concerns of the farmers as identified in the District Agricultural Development Strategies (DADS) for the district.
  4. Cross-cutting support to on-farm production system research in ATMA districts would be provided through research and capacity building for integrated pest management (IPM), integrated nutrient management (INM), seed production and storage, and strengthening research-extension-farmer-market linkages.
  5. AAU will also implement training programs to build capacity of staff from line departments to effectively use FMCs and Farmer Groups as a focal point for delivery of agricultural support services.

4. Contact Information of AAU

Dr. A K Pathak,
Director of Research (Agriculture), Assam,
Khanapara, Guwahati-785 013,
Ph- 2340044