School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SAST), Shirpur is the first School of Agriculture under SVKM’s NMIMS to be started in 2019 to bring in prosperity to the small and marginal farm holders. The School focuses on teaching, research and outreach, the three arms of agricultural research and education to meet the stakeholders’ aspirations with more participatory devolutions.
The School has air-conditioned class rooms with smart boards, 117 acres of farm, and fully-equipped laboratories. The integrated campus set-up provides an opportunity for the students to get exposed to engineering & pharmacy faculties and thus promote holistic development.
The robust agricultural education curriculum in line with national agricultural education systems as recommended by the ICAR provides a platform where knowledge, resources and opportunities to address aspects of enhanced farm productivity, profitability and sustainable livelihoods.
The skills of the students are honed in basic and applied aspects of agriculture and allied sectors; constant practical hand-holding; and assurance of learning to develop into future researchers or entrepreneurs. The students involve in experiential learning projects and agro-industrial attachments for beyond academic expertise.
NMIMS’s SAST is focused to give an extra mile to knowledge and career of graduates because we help them thinking both critically and creatively, and to express with energy, precision, and dynamism.
Vision
An internationally recognized technical education institution that excels in Agricultural Education, Research and Extension, producing socially responsible self-motivated graduates in the field of agriculture
Mission
To impart basic and applied knowledge and skills in national and global agricultural systems
Discover and nurture the innate impulse for professional development
To promote enhanced oral and written communication skills to address diverge stakeholders and contribute to the growth of the organization
President SVKM and Chancellor SVKM’s NMIMS
Agriculture is my passion and my way of life. Also, agriculture is the backbone of India for safeguarded food-, nutritional- and livelihood security. On one side, I see that the growth of modern agriculture at an astounding pace making India self-sustained in food grain production. But, on the flipside, I also see the pathetic condition of the debt-ridden, resource-poor, and highly vulnerable small and marginal farm holder, even sometimes committing suicides, due to non-reach and practice of this new knowledge to them.
In this setting, considering the strength of SVKM in imparting meaningful education successfully, the School of Agricultural Sciences & Technology was established in Shirpur in 2019, the prime agricultural belt of Maharashtra with a lot of agricultural diversity and also associated glitches. As water is the prime commodity for successful agriculture, through the concept of "Shirpur Pattern”, astounding groundwater recharge was realized by conserving water from every stream. From this School, I envisage to prepare agricultural graduates for the future food- and nutritional security of the Country. They can also ensure to risk-proof the farming community of this region, help them reap better productivity and profitability from modern agricultural systems to bring back their cheer and pride.
India needs trained agricultural graduates to meet the needs of more than 60% of the farmers depending on agriculture as their primary profession. National Agricultural Research and Education Systems (NARES) have grown to towering heights over years to take the country from a ‘ship to mouth’ position in late 50’s to a proud ‘self-reliant Food grain nation’. Globalization of education systems has resulted in enhanced knowledge management systems and skilling of human resources through novel learning systems.
Empowering the farming community with new knowledge sets is a daunting task considering the agro-ecological diversity and illiteracy levels. The School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology has recruited highly qualified faculty from different parts of the nation who bring with them their regional knowledge flavour. Fortunately, Indian agriculture has a lot of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge developed out of vast experience over generations which could benefit farmers, if validated in the regional perspective.
Climate change is emerging as a threat to our agricultural systems and there is an urgent need to build awareness among farmers and also develop risk-averting adaptation strategies. I expect that the School to train the undergraduates to holistically address the issues of effective knowledge management systems, be exemplary educators, conduct top-notch research to develop adaptable cost-effective technologies, primary- and secondary value addition to agricultural commodities, and agri-preneurship skills.
Dean , School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
Dr. Suseelendra Desai is M.Sc (Ag) in Plant Pathology (Gold Medallist) from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and Doctorate from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University. He has more than 3 decades of experience in the field of Agriculture Sciences, Crop Sciences, Plant Pathology and outreach to stakeholders.
Dr. Desai was associated with ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture as Head of Crop Sciences Division. Dr. Desai has been actively involved in research & academics as Principal Scientist, Senior Scientist & Scientist, at ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture and Directorate of Groundnut Research. He was also a Visiting Scientist at International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics. He has also gained knowledge with regards to Agricultural finance as Agricultural Finance Officer with Bank of India. He was a DAAD post-doctoral fellow during 1991-1994 at Justus Liebig University, Germany, followed by DAAD Re-invitation Fellow in 2007, 2011 and 2015.
At Directorate of Groundnut Research, he developed integrated management of foliar diseases of groundnut and HACCP-based integrated aflatoxin contamination management packages in groundnut and demonstrated in participatory mode in 3 states of India. He identified promising strains of Trichoderma, formulated and field-tested for management of stem rot and aflatoxin contamination in groundnut.
During 2004 to 2021, at ICAR-CRIDA, he harnessed microbial diversity for microbe-mediated crop health management. He identified "Multi-nutrient tasking microbes" possessing biocontrol ability as well and commercialized them through Integrated Bioresources Centre, ICAR-CRIDA. He identified abiotic stress tolerant bioinoculants and characterized molecular basis of tolerance. He studied in detail the climate change impacts on plant pathogens and biocontrol agents.
He has handled several externally funded projects on basic and applied aspects in agriculture and conferred with several distinctions. He has guided 4 doctoral students 3 Masters students; and more than 40 student interns. He has authored 77 research papers; >30 book chapters; delivered >100 keynote/lead/invited lectures in national and international seminars and symposia; 12 technical bulletins; 10 popular articles; and edited 5 books.
He has number of accolades and rewards to his credit in the field of Agricultural Sciences. He is a Member of Scientific Panels "Microbial Hazards of Food" and "Contaminants in Food Chain" of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India since 2009. He is a Fellow of several professional societies and recipient of Agriculture Today "Life Time Achievement Award for Eco-agriculture 2021" and "Dr. A.N. Mukhopadhyay Oration Lecture Award”.
After completing 34 years of successful career in Indian Council of Agricultural Research, he had a brief Industry stint in Varsha Biosciences and Technology India Private Limited as Vice President (Research & Business Development). In October 2021, he joined NMIMS as Dean, School of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Shirpur.
