Department of Social Sciences

The department of social sciences was started functioning as a separate unit since 1996 by amalgamating five sister departments namely Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Agricultural Statistics, Computer Science and Languages. The department primarily addresses the issues associated with socio-economic, cultural, functional and demographic dimensions of farm research, and of stakeholders associated with agriculture and allied activities and outreach missions besides imparting education to students.

The department also functions as a launching pad to the students aspiring for competitive examinations by motivating them through group discussion, aptitude development (assignment), soft skills enhancement, mock interview and so on. Every year, a significant number of students get placements in reputed national and international institutions.

The mission of the department is to acquire and transmit the basic and applied social and economic theories and field level innovations to the stakeholders at various levels in the farm sector to strengthen the decision making and household well being at the micro level and social welfare at the macro level. The main activities of the department are

• to provide a broad range of educational programs  in social sciences, which contribute to the development of human capital in the field of agricultural and rural development;
• to co ordinate and support research that strengthens the understanding of economic and community development issues, problems and opportunities;

• to provide policy support to state and central governments on problems confronting rural development and economic well being of the farmers; and
• to foster inter-institutional collaborations at regional, national and international levels for research, training and development in select areas.

The overall vision of the department is to offer socially relevant and high quality education to farm graduates, maintain a commitment to the pursuit of excellence by encouraging students to develop capacity for independent thought, critical analysis, self awareness and social accomplishments by nurturing a sense of individual and social responsibilities. Specifically, the department is committed

• to sensitize students to undertake inter disciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborative research by maintaining intellectual freedom, research integrity, social ethics and professional integrity;
• to promote the students’ sense of social and community spirit, social motive, rural upliftment, social equality, farmers’ welfare and ultimately the betterment of the rural community; and
• to undertake field level research involving farmers to identify the strategic needs and offer action oriented solutions to enhance crop productivity and farm income so that more educated youth will be attracted towards crop farming.