Prayagraj: A three-day residential training program for empowering women agricultural entrepreneurs under the Women Farmer Entrepreneurs Project for Income Enhancement of Smallholder Farmers, sponsored by Jaya Foundation, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, was inaugurated in the auditorium of the Extension Directorate, SHUATS, Prayagraj, on July 15, 2026. Inaugurating the program, Joint Director of Agriculture, Prayagraj Division, Prayagraj, Mr. Anil Kumar Sagar stated that rural women play a vital role in the progress and development of the Indian rural economy and agriculture sector. Rural women are playing a leading role in sustainable development and economic, social, and environmental improvements in the agricultural sector.
He added that given women’s widespread participation in agricultural work, rural women are made aware through such training programs, which empower them individually and as families, and also provide entrepreneurial opportunities to their rural communities and other agricultural women. Addressing the women farmers, Dr. Praveen Charan, Director of Extension, SHUATS Prayagraj, who was present at the program, said that women constitute half of the country’s total population, yet they are still deprived of their basic rights. It is essential for rural women to become educated and economically independent and capable. The objective of this three-day program is to empower women working in rural agriculture by training them in crop production, protected cultivation, animal husbandry, mushroom production, dairy farming, and cottage industries, thereby empowering them financially and self-sufficiently.
On this occasion, Vice Chancellor of SHUATS University, Prof. (Dr.) Vishwaroop Mehra, who was present at the training program, informed the women farmers about income generation through cereal production and processing, stating that cereal crops can be produced even with limited resources and in less fertile land. He explained that coarse grain products can also prove useful in small-scale and cottage industries for rural women’s income generation. Training Coordinator Dr. Shailendra Kumar Singh introduced the outline of the training program and provided detailed information about protected agriculture to rural women farmers. He explained that rural women can improve their economic status by achieving good production through horticultural crops, nursery management, fruit trees, and nursery management in polyhouses/greenhouses/low-turn polyhouses.
Rajnikant Prasad, Director of Jaya Foundation, Lucknow, stated in his address that Jaya Foundation is committed to providing rural women with equal opportunities for economic and social development. This training program provides women working in rural areas an opportunity to receive skilled training on various topics such as integrated nutrient management, organic farming, integrated pest management, biopesticides, natural farming, etc., enabling them to become economically self-reliant and contribute to the economic progress of their village, state, and country. Scientists of Directorate of Extension Dr. Shishir Kumar, Dr. T.D. Mishra, Dr. Manish Kumar Kesarwani, Dr. Yogesh Chandra Srivastava, Dr. Sarvendra Kumar, Mrs. Meena Nathan and all the employees of Directorate of Extension were present in the training programme.
