Institute of Agriculture and animal Sciences(IAAS)
Background
“Tribhuvan University (TU) is the pioneer and leading national institution of higher education in Nepal; established in 1959 A.D. Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) is an autonomous academic centre of Tribhuvan University for imparting education in disciplines: Agriculture, Animal sciences and Veterinary Sciences. Initially, the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) began as a School of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture in 1957 to train Junior Technical Assistants (JTAs) in agriculture. In 1968, the school was upgraded to College of Agriculture and a two- year Intermediate of Agricultural Science (I.Sc.Ag.) program was started. In 1972, the College of Agriculture was given the status of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science under Tribhuvan University. Until that time, the institute did not have its own buildings and facilities and was operated at Jagdamba Bhawan at Pulchowk in Kathmandu. In 1974, the institute was relocated from Kathmandu to Rampur in Chitwan. Branch campus of IAAS was started at two locations: one at Sundarbazar, Lamjung, in 1975 and the other at Paklihawa, Rupandehi in 1978.
The mission of the institute is to promote agricultural science and to train manpower for agricultural development focusing on teaching, research and extension. The main objectives of the institute are to design and implement educational programs with appropriate balance between established and emerging needs in the agricultural sector; introduce innovative ways of teaching, research and technology dissemination; and promote research and studies catering to the needs of farmers in the country. The institute has proven its academic excellence through competent human resource development. IAAS has been making continuous and strenuous efforts to tackle issues of concern in agricultural education in Nepal since its inception. In the course of time, many of the programs started in the past have been modified and/or up-graded to attune the role in addressing the pressing needs and priorities of agricultural sector in the country. The current restructuring of syllabi is also bearing such contents as to enable skill development in operational aspect of agriculture and contribute to productivity.”
Objectives of IAAS
“The Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) is one among the five technical institutes under Tribhuvan University, Nepal. The mission of IAAS is to train competent manpower in agriculture and allied disciplines, and to promote research, development and technology dissemination in agriculture. IAAS has following objectives:
• To design and implement educational programs in agriculture in order to obtain an appropriate balance among established and emerging needs of the agricultural sector in Nepal.
• To promote excellence in instruction, research and technology dissemination in agriculture.
• To develop technically competent agricultural graduates ready to apply the knowledge and skills in technical agriculture, agricultural extension, agricultural education, agribusiness and agricultural and rural development programs.
• To encourage and support faculty members and students for research and scholarly activities relevant to the needs of Nepalese agriculture and farmers.
• To foster students self-development, commitment and responsibility for the welfare of Nepalese society.
The purpose of this institute is to positively respond to the Nepalese government policy on agricultural transformation. The mission of its academic Program is to engage its students and professors in relevant, timely and effective studies through training, research and inquiries, focused on promoting tertiary education and producing skilled agricultural workforce. IAAS aims to assure the prosperity of farmers and rural community through diversification, intensification and linkage of agriculture to the market. It will contribute to the government efforts toward poverty reduction and promoting sustainable economic development through modernizing the agricultural sector and efficient use of natural resources”
Human Resource Contribution
The institute has produced around 15000 agricultural graduates so far. The human resource developed from IAAS deserves academic excellence and competition among human resources developed within and outside the country. They are highly qualified both in theoretical concepts and practical knowledge in the field of agriculture. The types and number of human resources developed by the institute so far is as follows:
| SN | Type of human resources | Number of human resources |
| 1 | Social Mobilizers and Village Animal Health Workers | 2600< |
| 2 | Non-academic JTAs in Agriculture and Animal Science | 2000< |
| 3 | Academic JTAs in Agriculture | 4000< |
| 4 | I.Sc.Ag. (I.Sc. Proficiency Certificate) | 700< |
| 5 | B.Sc.Ag. Graduates | 3961< |
| 6 | BVSc. and A.H. Graduates | 540< |
| 7 | Post-graduates (M.Sc./Ph.D.) | 885< |
| Total | 14686< |