From the desk of Vice-Chancellor…

The role of agriculture is becoming increasingly important in today's world with the emergence of challenges like climate change, burgeoning population and the reduced availability of land, water and other natural resources for agricultural purposes. It is estimated that the world population will exceed nine billion by 2050 and the traditional methods of crop improvement and crop production may not be capable of meeting food requirements in the days to come. As new challenges threaten national and global food security, emerging areas of science such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, ICTs, nanotechnology are offering hope for solutions. The Bihar Agricultural University is well aware of these challenges and opportunities. We are shaping the research, education and extension priorities of the university keeping in mind future challenges and requirements.
BAU is striving to establish world-class educational standards in order to meet the demand for professionally trained human resources to serve in the fields of agricultural production, education, research, extension, and industry. To achieve this, BAU is investing in state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure in order to provide students with the highest possible learning experience. On the lines of NEP 2020 recommendations, the university is working towards promotion of inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional research; enhancement of student strength to meet set standards; harnessing of educational resources in a complementary manner. We are committed to helping our students develop their professional capabilities, interpersonal skills, psychological well-being, career counseling and placement.
Mitigating climate change, enhancing resource use efficiency and achieving sustainable production of safe food in adequate quantities are the priority areas of the university's research. To address the emerging challenges of agriculture, Bihar Agricultural University is engaged in development of biofortified, biotic and abiotic stress resistant, early maturing crop varieties, development & refinement of resource conservation and crop protection technologies. The university is also undertaking research on soil health management, food processing & value addition, use of digital agriculture, artificial intelligence and machine learning for developing smart farm solutions. BAU is also aimed at enhancing visibility of its scientific contributions by securing patents and brining out quality research publications.
The Bihar Agricultural University has made historical contributions to the field of agricultural extension. The postgraduate programme in extension education was initiated for the first time in India at the Sabour campus of the university. BAU is also accredited for developing India’s largest YouTube channel by any SAU. In addition, it pioneered the development of several extension models including Kisan Chaupal, Kisan Gyan Rath and many more. Besides these initiatives, BAU is also engaged in empowerment of rural women, promotion of start-ups, development of agripreneurs, imparting of advanced training and capacity building programmes. In the days to come, the university aims at extensive use of AI and ICTs for delivery of customized advisory services, development of scalable farm decision support systems and promotion of climate smart technologies and integrated village development covering a multitude of dimensions including health, nutrition and livelihood security.
The BAU, Sabour will continue to be committed to the development of the farming community of the state in days and years to come and strive for continued improvement in the standards of agricultural education, research, extension and training.