Minister urges scientists to help improve dryland farming

Three-day International Conference on Innovation to Transform Dryland being held at ICRISAT 

Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has expressed concern over dryland cultivation, particularly involving the small and marginal farmers, in the backdrop of climate change, changing biodiversity and challenges of food security.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day International Conference on Innovation to Transform Dryland being held at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) here on Tuesday, he urged the scientific community to improve the conditions of dryland cultivation towards sustainable agriculture.

Such efforts should encompass protection of natural resources and biodiversity and they should be aimed at making farming sustainable, the Minister said adding that 50% of food production in the world was coming from dryland cultivation in the arid and semi-arid tropics although they comprised 40% of cultivable land.

Complimenting the services of ICRISAT over the last 50 years to improve farming in Africa and Asia, the Minister said its work on environmental protection, nutritional security and meeting hunger through research on dryland cultivation by developing suitable technologies and farming practices.

He hoped that the conference find some answers to tackle the increasing threat to biodiversity, degrading soil health, climate change and shrinking productivity. Such meets should also throw specific research results on the problems of dryland cultivation.

Member of NITI Aayog Prof. Ramesh Chand, Director General of ICRISAT Dr. Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Deputy Director General (Research) Dr. Arvind Kumar, scientists from various national and international organisations spoke in different sessions and discussions being held as part of the conference.