The agriculture museum of Bangalore

Agricultural is the backbone of India and for centuries Indian economy has been dependent on this sector. It is only after Independence in 1947, that Indian began nurturing other sectors and today the manufacturing ands service sector are vital for driving forwards the nation’s economy.

Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 16.6 per cent of the GDP in 2009, about 50 per cent  of the total workforce.

Then, one of India’s challenges was agriculture and rural development. The first Education Commission of India (1949) headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, recommended setting up rural universities in India on American  land grant model. The first state agricultural university of India- G B Pant University of Agriculture Sciences, Pantnagar, came to be set up in Uttar Pradesh in 1960.

Since then many other similar universities have been set up in India, including the UAS in Hebbal, Bangalore. Today, there are nearly 60 SAUs in India.

The UAS in Hebbal has made a name for itself in several fields of agriculture education, crop research and farmer-university interaction. Though the UAS was set up in 1963, its origin can be traced to 1899 when Maharani Kempa Nanjammanni Vani Vilasa Sannidhiyavaru, the Regent of Mysore, donated 30 acres for establishing an Experimental Agricultural Station at Hebbal.

The Regent also appointed Dr Lehmann, a German, to initiate research on soil crop response. In 1906, Dr Leslie Coleman, a Canadian entomologist and mycologist,  succeeded Dr Lehmann and he served the institution for 25 years. The research station gets 202 acres from the Mysore Government including 30 acres of wetland.

In 1913, Sir M Vishveshwaraiah, the then Diwan of Mysore (1912-1919), helps establish Mysore Agriculture residential School at Hebbal. He also appoints Dr Leslie Coleman as the first Director of Agriculture, Mysore and head of the school.

It was in 1946 that the then Minister for Agriculture, M A Srinivasan, took initiative to establish Agriculture College, Hebbal, for offering four year professional degree program in Agriculture affiliated to the University of Mysore.

Since then the UAS has come a long way and it is today a pioneer in agriculture research. It has several firsts and initiatives to its credit. Very few know that the UAS has also set up an Agricultural Museum.

The museum is located at the Hebbal campus of UAS on Bangalore-Bellary or Yelahanka road.

The museum includes exhibits representing major advancements in the different disciplines of agricultural sciences, including agriculture, veterinary, fisheries, sericulture and other sectors relating to land, irrigation and crops.

The museum also contains a section, which demonstrate live the various concepts of agricultural technology, including the performance of high-yielding strains of plants and animals, watershed practices, threshing and harvesting techniques etc. The museum has been so designed that it provides a rare and once in a life time opportunity for people to look at appreciate and learn about different aspects of agriculture. The live concepts in the museum are extremely helpful to the students of UAS, research scholars and agriculturists to impart on site training.

The museum also exhibits live specimens of different animals, fish and poultry breeds in addition different crop species and varieties. Though the museum has been a hit with the school an college students, not many people outside the academic field are aware of it.

The museum is generally not open to the public. However, you can visit it with prior permission. You have to pay a small entrance fee for entering the museum. Get in touch with the GKVK authorities before going to the institution. Call them at 080-23330674/23330984/23332442 or 23330153 or email at registrar@UASbangalore.edn.in. The museum is open from 9 a.m., to 4 p.m.