Mohali November 23:
Knowledge City being developed here will have a close resemblance to the cluster of institutes that have come at Saskatoon in Canada over the past 40 years and Punjab has already started the process of creating linkages with Saskatoon by inviting an 11-member delegation from the Canadian city to develop partnerships in bio-processing and bio-product technologies.
The Canadian team, which is taking part in a strategic meet on “Visions and partnerships for innovations in agri-food research” at the National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) starting today, gave suggestions on how technology could enhance farm income in Punjab, despite smallholdings.
Canadian team members, including Dr Suzanne Abrams, who is the research director at the Plant Biotechnology Institute (PBI), Saskatoon, said technologies that ensured value addition to farming must reach state farms. Other members of the team, including PBI director Jerome Konecsni, said they could identify models for governance whereby small farmers and agro-industries could contribute to build business plans that would attract private equity.
Punjab Secretary, Science and Technology, Visvajeet Khanna said the state was making an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Knowledge City out of which the NABI would have 50-acre campus. He said the cluster of institutions that would come up in the new city spread over 400 acre would ensure top-level education and research opportunities for the youth of Punjab. Khanna said students from the state would not only get training at various institutes coming up in the city, but also feed new industries, which would come up in the region.
State Chief Secretary AC Agrawal said the idea behind development of Knowledge city was to create processing as well as research and development links with Punjab agriculture.
Knowledge City being developed here will have a close resemblance to the cluster of institutes that have come at Saskatoon in Canada over the past 40 years and Punjab has already started the process of creating linkages with Saskatoon by inviting an 11-member delegation from the Canadian city to develop partnerships in bio-processing and bio-product technologies.
The Canadian team, which is taking part in a strategic meet on “Visions and partnerships for innovations in agri-food research” at the National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) starting today, gave suggestions on how technology could enhance farm income in Punjab, despite smallholdings.
Canadian team members, including Dr Suzanne Abrams, who is the research director at the Plant Biotechnology Institute (PBI), Saskatoon, said technologies that ensured value addition to farming must reach state farms. Other members of the team, including PBI director Jerome Konecsni, said they could identify models for governance whereby small farmers and agro-industries could contribute to build business plans that would attract private equity.
Punjab Secretary, Science and Technology, Visvajeet Khanna said the state was making an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Knowledge City out of which the NABI would have 50-acre campus. He said the cluster of institutions that would come up in the new city spread over 400 acre would ensure top-level education and research opportunities for the youth of Punjab. Khanna said students from the state would not only get training at various institutes coming up in the city, but also feed new industries, which would come up in the region.
State Chief Secretary AC Agrawal said the idea behind development of Knowledge city was to create processing as well as research and development links with Punjab agriculture.
