As part of attracting young people to farming, the Agriculture Department is introducing a new programme where Krishi Bhavans under the department will be open for internships.
In a nutshell, the idea is to offer educated youth insights into the diverse aspects of the farming scenario in Kerala, including crop planning and raising, harvest, marketing, extension, and administration. The State government has given administrative sanction for ₹72 lakh for introducing the programme.
A total of 1,077 interns will be engaged in the first batch in 2021-22, subject to a screening at the level of the Principal Agricultural Officers (PAO) and Krishi Bhavans.
Work profile
“The selected interns will assist and support department officials in conducting extension activities, distributing planting materials, collecting information from the field and helping farmers gain maximum support from the department,” according to the department. The internship is also designed to provide useful insights to aspects such as crop coverage and crop health, resource mapping, channelling technical support and office-related work such as data entry.
₹1,000 a month, certificate
The period of internship is 180 days, which can be completed over a period of one year. The interns stand to earn ₹1,000 a month as an incentive. According to the department, the internship will be open to final-year Vocational Higher Secondary Education (VHSE) students, VHSE certificate-holders in agriculture/organic farming, and BSc Agriculture graduates.
The internship is being introduced under the Human Resource Development component of the Agriculture Department. The department also plans to issue certificates to candidates who successfully complete the internship.
