Technology-based farming can tackle vagaries of nature, say experts
The Hindu
National symposium on ‘Fostering resilient coastal agroecosystems’ begins at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Tirupati
The 13 th national symposium on ‘Fostering resilient coastal agroecosystems’ that began at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) here on February 22 (Wednesday) focussed on addressing the issues pertaining to farming, especially in challenging situations due to adverse conditions’ by adopting modern technology.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore Vice-Chancellor V. Geethalakshmi, who took part in the symposium as the chief guest, said that the coastal areas were more vulnerable to natural calamities and advised the use of weather forecast to avoid crop losses. She also suggested the use of drone technology for the assessment of crop losses while fixing the compensation for farmers.
“The TNAU has developed a paddy variety through biotechnological interventions and seven varieties of paddy that are tolerant to the saline condition under the Trichy series,” said Dr. Geethalakshmi. She suggested development of crop varieties to suit the local conditions.
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) Vice-Chancellor A. Vishnuvardhan Reddy said that the varieties developed at the ANGRAU were performing well across the coastal agroecosystems. “The per capita food grain production is more in coastal ecosystems when compared to to the plain ecosystem,” Dr. Reddy said.
ISRO’s OIIC Bengaluru Director D. Gowrisankar, ICAR’s CSSRI (Karnal) Director P.C. Sharma, ISCAR (Canning Town) president B.K. Bandhopadhyaya and secretary U.K. Mandal explained various aspects of bringing technology closer to farmers, while SV Veterinary University Vice-Chancellor V. Padmanabha Reddy and ANGRAU Director of Research (LAM, Guntur) L. Prasanthi spoke about the contribution of their respective institutions in coastal productivity.