2-day diamond jubilee fete of SV Agricultural College begins today

Tirupati: SV Agricultural College, Tirupati, will celebrate diamond jubilee on December 19 and 20.

As it was established in October 1961, the year 2021-22 has been declared as the Diamond Jubilee year for the College. It was established as the third Agricultural College in AP as an affiliated college to Sri Venkateswara University but subsequently it has been transferred to the fold of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University in 1964.

During the last 60 years, the college did yeomen service and also served as Centre of Excellence in the development of trained human resources required in the field of agriculture who can serve the farmers in mitigating agriculture related potential field problems. From July 10, 1964, SV Agricultural College became one of the constituent colleges of the University along with others in the State, representing the essence a breakaway from the traditional university pattern.

It witnessed a steady growth pattern from the introduction of postgraduate courses during the academic year 1968-69 first with a programme having Horticulture as the major field followed by Agronomy in 1969-70, Plant Pathology (1972-73), Extension Education (1976-77), Genetics and Plant Breeding (1982-83), Entomology (1982-83), Agriculture Economics (1984-85), Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry (1984-85), Plant Physiology (1985-86) and Statistics and Computer Applications (2009-10).

Subsequently, PhD programmes were introduced in the disciplines of Agronomy and Genetics and plant breeding during 1992-93 followed by other courses in subsequent years. Further, post-graduation in Agribusiness management was introduced in 2008.

Located at the footsteps of the sacred Tirumala Hills in a sprawling 360 plus acres, the college was shaped in due course of time by providing a spacious building for laboratories and classrooms for each department.

So far, a total of 4,966 students in B.Sc (Ag) degree, 1,444 students in M Sc (Ag.), 151 students in MBA and 202 students in PhD programmes have passed out and are occupying higher and prestigious positions in different public and private national and international organisations.

Explaining about the Diamond Jubilee, College Associate Dean Dr R P Vasanthi said that the celebrations will be held in a grand way on December 19 and 20. During the past one year various programmes were held commemorating the diamond jubilee year. The college management and the alumni association are all set to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee as a memorable event.

Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Dr A Vishnuvardhan Reddy, former Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) RS Paroda and public representatives will take part in the celebrations, she maintained.