September 5, 2025

Imagine a new dawn in Karnataka's farming education! A powerful expert panel led by former chief secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar has dropped a bombshell recommendation – all agricultural and allied universities in Karnataka should become integrated universities. That means one university will cover everything from growing crops to horticulture, unlike today’s split system where farmers must visit separate places depending on their needs. The report, submitted on September 4, highlights a big problem: farming today needs an integrated approach. “Farmers would have to approach different universities for taking up integrated farming,” says the report, showing the current system's clumsiness. Instead, integrated universities will make life simpler and farming more sustainable. Even the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) seems to agree, hinting at a future with integrated campuses. The panel suggests starting with agriculture and horticulture together. Veterinary university Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU) can wait for phase two because it needs special resources. Karnataka has seven universities in agriculture and allied sectors. The experts have cleverly redrawn the lines of each university’s area by studying crop-growing land in every district. But don’t worry – no universities will be shut or lose power, the panel promises. "The recommendation of having integrated universities does not affect the structure or functioning of any existing university," sources clarified. The plan is to cut down wasteful spending and stop repeating research work. Everyone – farmers, teachers, students, and experts – was consulted before this idea took shape. But hold your horses! The University of Horticultural Sciences in Bagalkot is not too happy. They want to stay specialized and have voiced their objections, especially after some politicians from north Karnataka spoke up during the legislative session. This idea isn’t new. Karnataka has been trying to improve agricultural education for the last 20 years, and famous agricultural academics like late Dr. R. Dwarkinath had warned that splitting universities could hurt integrated farming. The issue got hotter after the government recently carved out a new University of Agricultural Sciences in Mandya from Bengaluru’s UAS-B, pushing the experts to dive deep and suggest this bold new plan. Exciting times are ahead for Karnataka’s farming education! Will integrated universities lead to stronger, smarter farming? Only time will tell, but the seeds of change have surely been sown.

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Tags: Integrated universities, Agriculture in karnataka, Farming innovation, Icar, Agricultural education, Horticulture,