At the 51st convocation of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UAS-B) held at the GKVK campus here, 646 undergraduates, 234 postgraduates and 73 Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) scholars received their degrees.

 An emotional M Raghuveer, who completed his Bachelor of Science degree from College of Agriculture, Mandya, received 11 gold medals at the convocation.

He was accompanied by his mother, Bhagyamma. Raghuveer belongs to a family of farmers in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajnagar district. His father, Madhappa, passed away in January because of ill-health.

“I wish my father was here to see me today. I was not thinking of medals when I studied. I just wanted to do well so that I could get scholarships to complete my BSc,” Raghuveer said. He is now pursuing MSc in Genetics and Plant Breeding from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

Y C Archana from Yadaganahalli, Maddur taluk, received six gold medals in BSc in Agricultural Marketing. “Farmers are often cheated of their profits by middlemen. After I complete my MSc, I hope to get a job in Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). The first thing I will do is control the middlemen,” she said.

 C Preethi, the daughter of S V Chandrasekaran and B K Saundaryavalli and a student of College of Sericulture at Chintamani in Chikkaballapur district, bagged six gold medals in BSc (Sericulture). A native of Hosur, Preethi suffered from thyroid disorder while she was in BSc.

She underwent a surgery and had to be on fruit juice diet for two years as per doctor’s advice. The ailment did not deter her dreams of excelling in academics.

Another student, Geeta from a farmer family in Doddaballapur in Bengaluru Rural district received four gold medals for MSc in Agriculture. “I am doing my PhD now and want to develop seeds which will produce high-yielding crops,” said Geeta, daughter of farmer. PhD scholars G Uday, M A Yashaswini and Veeresh Hatti, received three medals each.

 Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) delivered the convocation speech.

“Bengaluru city should carve a niche in agriculture on the lines of its glory in information technology. Youngsters should do more research to face the challenges of malnutrition in the future,” Mohapatra said.

The degrees were awarded by Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.