Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) by ICAR

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched the Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) project in 2015-16. The ICAR implements project ARYA, and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra of every district will implement this project in different districts.

Project ARYA encourages the youth in India to participate in various kinds of agricultural activities and entrepreneurial ventures related to the allied sectors.

Project ARYA focuses on generating and creating employment in the agriculture sector to have a steady flow of income in rural households, resulting in agricultural development and strengthening the rural areas. 

The government initiated Project ARYA to motivate India’s youth to stay in rural areas. It aims to create enough job opportunities for the youth in the agricultural sector so they will not have to migrate from villages to cities or urban areas in search of jobs and steady income. 

Objectives of ARYA Scheme

• To attract the rural youth and encourage them to contribute to India’s agricultural sector.
• To create employment opportunities in the agricultural and allied sectors so that rural households have a regular and steady income flow into their households.
• To empower the youth in rural areas to take up work in various agriculture and service sector enterprises for sustainable income in selected districts.
• To enable the farm youth to establish network groups for taking up capital-intensive and resource activities like value addition, processing and marketing.
• To demonstrate functional linkage with various institutions and stakeholders for obtaining opportunities available under different programmes or schemes for the sustainable development of youth.

Features of ARYA Scheme

• Project ARYA will be implemented by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra situated in every district.
• The rural youth will be trained in several job functions and roles, like seed processing, creating vermicompost, managing poultry, soil testing, etc.
• Under project ARYA, assistance will be provided to those interested in establishing their entrepreneurial ventures by helping them make reports to apply for bank loans to get funds for their ventures.
• Project ARYA aims to promote green revolution and support agriculture in all Indian states.

Implementation of ARYA Scheme

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will implement project ARYA in one district in each of the 28 states in India. Around 200-300 rural youths will be identified in one district for skill development in entrepreneurial activities and opening establishments in related micro-enterprise units. 

KVKs will involve the ICAR institutes and agricultural universities as technology partners under project ARYA. At KVKs, one to two enterprise units will be established to serve as entrepreneurial training units for farmers. Training is given to rural youth in mushroom, apiary, seed processing, poultry, soil testing, goatry, dairy, carp hatchery, vermicompost, etc. 

The purpose is to develop economic models for youth in the villages so that they get attracted to agriculture, and there is improvement in the overall rural situation. Concurrent monitoring, mid-term correction and evaluation will be an integral part of this project implementation.

Skill development of rural youths will help improve their confidence levels and encourage them to pursue farming as a profession, generating additional employment opportunities to absorb under-employed and unemployed rural youth in secondary agriculture and service-related activities in rural areas. 

Benefits of ARYA Scheme

• It will help the rural youth create a steady and regular source of income for their households.
• It will create employment opportunities that will help people looking for better job opportunities in the rural areas.
• It will help to showcase the importance of farming and make it one of the most coveted career aspirations.
• It will bring about a change and progress in how agriculture is done in India, improving the country’s economic situation at a macro level.
• It will help retain the country’s youth in the rural areas by creating enough opportunities in rural India.
• It will help to improve agriculture and, thus, help solve the problem of food security with proper planning and structured agriculture.