Hon’ble Secretary DARE and Director General, ICAR visited ICAR-CIWA, Bhubaneswar on 13th July 2024 and inaugurated Sabarmati Trainees' hostel

Hon’ble Secretary DARE and Director General, ICAR, Dr. Himanshu Pathak, visited ICAR-CIWA on 13th July 2024. He inaugurated the Sabarmati Trainees' hostel and dedicated it to the benefit of mankind. Dr. R. C. Agarwal, Hon’ble DDG (Agril. Edn.), Dr. J. K. Jena, Hon’ble DDG (Fisheries), Padmasree Sabarmati Tiki, Dr. Bimlesh Mann, ADG (EP&HS) and Dr. Mridula Devi, Director, ICAR-CIWA along with Directors of ICAR institutes were present in the inaugural ceremony of the trainees hostel. The hostel is having 5 VVIP, 5 VIP and 19 air-conditioned rooms with all sorts of amenities like a meeting hall, recreation/reading hall, dining hall, etc. to cater to the needs of the trainees. 
At the outset, Dr. Mridula Devi, Director, ICAR-CIWA welcomed the dignitaries and highlighted the achievements of the institute in various aspects of women empowerment. The Hon'ble DG, DDGs, and ADG, along with directors of the various institutes of ICAR visited the Women Empowerment Museum/Technology Hub, extrusion processing facility and appreciated the progress of work. An interaction meeting with all staff of ICAR-CIWA and members of women led FPCs was organized under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Secretary DARE and Director General, ICAR.
Hon’ble DDG (Agril. Edn.), emphasized on research on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of women in Agriculture highlighting the output of the institute at the national and global level and formulating the programme of national priority. He suggested to organize special training for women scientists of ICAR and SAUs, Global Conference in partnership with CGIAR institutes. He appreciated the works undertaken by ICAR-CIWA through Nutri-smart village programme and suggested to make a model village through Poshan Abhiyan Programme for improving the livelihood and nutritional security of women farmers in the vicinity of village community. Hon’ble DDG (Fisheries) highlighted on strengthening the collaboration of ICAR-CIWA with other ICAR institutes and suggested to work on Ornamental fisheries and aquarium, an unique area of importance for women farmers. Hon’ble ADG (EP&HS) emphasized upon uniqueness of the institute and research and extension activities undertaken by the institute for upliftment of the women farming community. She emphasized to enhance the research publications in journals of high impact factor.
Padmasree Dr Sabarmati in her address appreciated the contribution of the institute and to carry forward the good work in collaborative research projects with other Government institutions. She suggested for documentation and preservation of all the agricultural wisdom of women farming community for widespread use. Many farm women and successful women entrepreneurs shared their experiences of getting support and hand-holding from ICAR-CIWA. During the programme, important publications including the Annual Report 2023 and Sashakti- Rajbhasha Patrika 2023 were released on the day. A women friendly technology entitled ‘Rotary Goat Feeding System’ was also transferred to Manikstu Agro Pvt. Ltd, Kalahandi, Odisha & ‘Maheera’ FPO, Balipatna, Khordha in the presence of Hon’ble DG and other dignitaries.
The Hon’ble Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR addressed the gathering and highlighted the proportion of women students in agricultural universities is increasing significantly indicating the role of women in agriculture. He emphasized upon the major contribution of women farmers to the agricultural activities and appreciated the contribution of ICAR-CIWA, an unique institute globally. He advised to collaborate with other ICAR institutes for implementation and validation of technologies and suggested that a major upgradation of the institute in future is needed to undertake a greater role in sustainable agri food system. He further suggested that ICAR-CIWA has to undertake research and extension collaborative research works with other institutes in gender perspectives.
The visit of Hon’ble DG was inspirational and motivational to all the staff of ICAR-CIWA to work with dedication for visibility of the institute to have positive impacts on the livelihood and income of women in agriculture. Director, ICAR-CIWA is indebted to the Director General, ICAR and Secretary, DARE for inaugurating the Sabarmati Trainee’s Hostel and interacting with staff of ICAR-CIWA and women farming community. At the end formal vote of thanks was offered to Hon’ble DG and all the dignitaries for the gracious presence in the inaugural ceremony of Sabarmati trainee hostel and interaction meeting at ICAR-CIWA.