MSDE And Australia Partner To Boost Agriculture Skills

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Australian Government held a roundtable to discuss the Australia-India Critical Agriculture Skills Pilot Project. The discussion, led by MSDE Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari and Australian High Commission Minister Mathew Johnston, highlighted opportunities for scaling the initiative and replicating the model in other sectors. Representatives from various organisations, including NCVET, NSDC, ICRA, MoE and ASCI, participated in the roundtable.

The project has many consultations with experts, government organisations, research organisations, multilateral organisations, non-profits and industry associations.  The scoping study involved face-to-face and virtual consultations with 89 experts from 64 organizations. The findings were shared with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Australian Government. 107 emerging job roles were mapped to identify 5 critical emerging roles for pilot projects.

The next step involved aligning qualification standards, a collaboration between the Agricultural Skill Council of India (ASCI) and Skills Impact, to be approved by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).

Six pilot projects in four states, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, have been completed, creating new job roles in the sector such as Digital Agriculture Extension Promoter, Carbon Farming Practitioner, Livestock Green Management Promoter, Organic Farm & Business Promoter and Integrated Farming Practitioner, all aligned with Sustainable Development Goals.

The course content, developed in collaboration with various organisations, includes information on job roles in agriculture, sustainable agriculture and carbon-friendly and is designed for multiple job roles in India.

India and Australia are collaborating on capacity building and training, focusing on new-age courses to meet changing needs and demographics. Following NEP 2020, India has introduced initiatives for internationalisation of education, including regulations for Joint/Dual/Twinning degrees and a draft regulation for setting up foreign university campuses in India.