AGRICULTURE CAN BE THE BIGGEST CONTIBUTOR TO INDIA’S FIVE TRILLION ECONOMY TARGET: PROF. PANJAB SINGH
Varanasi: Eminent agriculture scientist, Chancellor of Rani Lakhsmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi and former Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Prof Panjab Singh said that agriculture sector can be the biggest contributor to India’s Five Trillion Economy target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing the inaugural session of the International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture Development in Changing Global Scenario at BHU on Friday, Prof. Singh spoke about the major challenges faced by India and the agriculture sector including the one of feeding a population of over 1.3 billion people. Underlining the need to put a greater stress on sustainable agriculture development, Prof Singh, who is also the president of the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences, New Delhi, called upon the budding scientists to work on finding out solutions to problems that concern the agriculture sector. Expressing concerns over the non-effective use of resources in farming, be it water or energy, he added that providing better infrastructure and technologies was a must in order to achieve sustainable agricultural development.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr RK Singh, Chairman, NEFORD, Lucknow, said that the bigger challenge before farmers was to produce more from lesser inputs. He said that not only India produces poorly and ineffectively but also consumes most of its production and that’s where a better, effective and efficient use of resources comes into picture. He observed that putting science into use holds the key to addressing most of these challenges. He emphasised the need of efficiency within agriculture and reduced usage of water, electricity and fertilizers along-with incorporation of sustainable technology within farmlands for boosting productivity.
Dr. US Gautam, Vice Chancellor of Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, said that agricultural transformation has to be used holistically and it should boost socio-economic growth which will actually make agriculture the backbone of Indian Economy. The conference has been jointly organised by Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, BHU and Royal Association for Science – Led Socio-Cultural Advancement (RASSA). AK Singh, President, RASSA, called for more research in agriculture sector in order to benefit farmers and the sector as a whole.
Prof. GS Singh, Dean, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in his welcome address highlighted the growth of the university since its foundation along-with the focus area of its newest institute of the conference. Scientists and scholars also presented research papers on the first day of the three-day conference. A paper titled “Tropospheric Ozone A Hidden Threat To Food Security” presented by Senior Prof. In Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Prof. Madhoolika Agrawal highlighted the adverse impacts of pollution on the rural areas directly affecting the agricultural productivity.
