Welcome to

ABIDAT

[ABAN - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel) Institute for Dryland Agriculture Technology]

"To transform lives through sustainable and holistic rejuvenation of fragile dryland and desert ecosystems."

ADMISSIONS OPEN FOR 2nd BATCH FOR PGCDS PROGRAM
INNOVATION IN DRYLAND SYSTEMS (Including AGRICULTURE) MANAGEMENT
ONE YEAR (2 SEMESTERS) FLAGSHIP PROGRAM AT CHENNAI CAMPUS Fully On-Line Mode of ‘PGCDS Program’ Available Now!!
ADMISSIONS OPEN!

BGU Israel’s PG Fellowship Recipient for 2023-24 Session(after completion of PGCDS Program @ ABIDAT, Chennai)

- O. REXLEY CHARLES - 1st Batch PGCDS Graduate

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- ZANETA PRARTHANA B. - PGCDS Graduate of Batch 2022-23

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PGCDS PROGRAM DATES

Registration for Admissions Open

Program Duration: 1 year (2 semesters)
Mode & Location:: On-Campus @ Chennai Fully On-Line Mode (Off-Campus) of ‘PGCDS Program’ Available Now!

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Why choose Us

Learn from the best - Professors & Scientists of Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Study from India for a fraction of the cost of studying overseas.

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What you get

Learn in 1 year to transform drylands and degraded ecosystems to productive sectors, and get yourself an International Certificate in Dryland Studies. The International Academic Credits earned in India will be considered for partial fulfilment of Course requirements for a Master’s degree in Desert Studies in BGU, Israel, with a possibility of grant of Fellowship (Scholarship), as obtained by 100% of our 1st Batch (2022-23).

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Opportunities through PGCDS Program

  • Valuable proposition for everyone looking forward to a career in regions of Dryland Systems, including Agriculture (either dryland farming with mean annual precipitation of 750 to 1150 mm &/or dry farming with mean annual precipitation of less than 750 mm), the avenue for the immediate future global food and nutrition security.
  • Option to pursue Master’s degree program in Desert Studies at BGU, Israel, by spending only 1 more year, with a possibility of grant of Fellowship/Scholarship, as acquired by 100% of our 1st Batch (2022-23). Hence obtaining 2 International Certificates (2 Programs) within 2 Years, at much lower & reasonable cost.
  • Placement openings with some of India’s top Agri-Business Entities.
  • Access to the advanced research & development arena for an in-depth multidisciplinary approach (including Applied Biotechnology) to varied ecosystems of a wide biota, including production systems with much emphasis on the drylands and fragile ecosystems towards sustainable agriculture.
  • The Certificate Program that would enhance the worth of students seeking to become entrepreneurs in a variety of ecologies, including the drylands.
  • Excellent opportunity for the “In-Service Personnel” to upgrade themselves for their performance, career and ultimate improvement in the ‘Production Systems’ for the advantage of Agroecology of India.
ABIDAT

PGCDS PROGRAM @ ABIDAT
(why take admission to the 3rd Batch in 2024-25 Session?)

Importance of Dryland Agriculture being introduced by Prof. Avigad Vonshak , Professor Emeritus, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands (FAAB), Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

ABIDAT: an Indo-Israeli Venture
 
 

Get Equipped for the Challenges in Ecologies, Agriculture, Biotechnology and much more, under Climate Change Scenario!

"TOP STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OVERSEAS CAN EXPECT TO BE WELL EQUIPPED IN THE MOST ADVANCED WAYS TO MAKE AGRICULTURE AND BROADER SECTORS SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE VENTURE, EVEN IN WATER AND RESOURCE DEFICIT CONDITIONS, BOTH QUANTITATIVELY AND QUALITATIVELY."

Our Program

Duration: 2 Semesters

2nd Batch starts in Fall Semester 2024 (Fully On-Line Mode of ‘PGCDS Program’ Available Now!)

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PGCDS (Post Graduate Certificate in Dryland Studies) Program consist of the following Courses

  • Dryland Functioning and Human Interventions
  • Water & the Environment: Current Challenges and Solutions
  • Carbon Metabolism and Photosynthesis in a Changing Environment
  • Theory and Applications of Geographic Information Systems and Science (GIS)
  • Introduction to Aquaculture
  • Physiology and Metabolism of Fruits
  • Crop Irrigation Regimes
  • Cytogenetics and Plant Reproduction
  • Dryland AgroEcology
  • Biology and Biotechnology of Microalgae
  • Epigenetics in Plant Stress Response and Breeding
  • Runoff Agroforestry in Drylands

ABIDAT: ABAN-BGU (Israel) Institute for Dryland Agriculture Technology

ABIDAT is a collaborative venture between the ABAN Group of India and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. This Institute attempts to bring to India the proven concepts, applications and adaptation approaches of Israel so that stakeholders, including farmers in India may benefit and acquire to innovate and learn ways to grow crops and manage the entire Farming systems with lesser water and resources. It is a known fact that water will be very scarce in the foreseeable future because the demand for the elixir of life far outstrips the supply in most parts of the world. Human enterprise extracts nearly a trillion cubic meters of groundwater annually around the world, with 70% of it flowing to agricultural uses. India ranks 1st among countries in the use of groundwater, and extraction has spiked from 25 billion cubic meters in 1960 to 250 billion cubic meters in 2015.

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Dryland Agriculture in India

Drylands constitute ~47% of the Earth's terrestrial surface, and are home to >2 billion people. In a few decades, it is likely to even touch 75%. Currently about 45% of the agriculture comes under this sector, and about 130 districts in India have been recognized as dryland farming areas. Of these, 91 districts are in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, representing typical dry farming tracts. Other districts belong to areas in Central Rajasthan, Saurashtra region of Gujarat and the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats. Almost 17 states and UTs have substantial tracts of drylands.

India has about 108 million hectares of rainfed area which constitutes nearly 75% of the total 143 million hectares of arable land. In such areas crop production becomes relatively difficult as farmers here are mainly dependent upon intensity and frequency of rainfall. Farming or crop production in such areas is called rainfed farming as there are little or no possibility to irrigate crops, even protective or life-saving irrigation is rarely possible with current strategies. Besides, the huge challenge of the national mandate to rehabilitate degraded lands to the tune of 26 million hectares warrants urgency of policies, plans and concerted actions.

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Messages From Management

From Correspondent ABIDAT

Message from Correspondent ABIDAT

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From Director ABIDAT

Message from Director ABIDAT

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Testimonials from our 1st Batch Students (during the course of PGCDS @ ABIDAT, Chennai)


(Contact numbers can be obtained by emailing admin@abidat.in)