The FICCI-YES Bank Knowledge Report- India beyond 75: Envisioning Smart & Sustainable Agriculture was also released at the event
Speaking at FICCI’s Agriculture Summit and Awards Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO, NRAA, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, said that adopting a sustainable approach to practising agriculture should involve meeting the demand of key stakeholders including farmers and consumers as well as ecology. The production system needs to spread horizontally beyond the agronomic crops by focussing on the nutritional need of the consumers. We need to move from primary to secondary agriculture by reducing food waste, increasing shelf life, connecting to the markets, meeting different tastes and preferences.
“We must also now focus on Ecosystem-Based Agriculture (EBA), which goes beyond Integrated Farming Systems (IFS). The difference between EBA and IFS or ILS (Integrated Livelihood System) is that it considers the need for a participative approach to the practice of agriculture,” he said.
The FICCI-YES Bank Knowledge Report- India beyond 75: Envisioning Smart & Sustainable Agriculture was also released at the event.
Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary, APEDA, complimented FICCI on acknowledging the industry for the initiatives taken towards farmer income enhancement. “In this transformation of agriculture in the last seven decades, starting from the Green Revolution to the White Revolution, and now leading to sustainable agriculture, the agricultural policies by the government, supported by the stakeholders, we have now come to a stage where from being a net importer, we have become a leader in agricultural production and now play an active role in agri-exports,” he said.
T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE, said that cutting down wastage at the farm gate is the first step to sustainability. The second part of sustainability is to preserve what you grow.
Sanjay Sacheti, Co-Chair, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Executive Director & Country Head, Olam Agro India said that sustainable agriculture has two aspects– farmer livelihoods, and promoting resource use efficiency in agriculture.
Rahoul Sawani, President – South Asia, Corteva Agriscience said that globally, the current climate challenges continue to demonstrate the critical role of sustainable practices and the vulnerability of the value chain in agriculture. It has demonstrated the need for smart and sustainable agriculture by putting the Indian farmer and their needs and aspirations at the centre of the engagement. Corteva Agriscience is committed to enriching lives together through sustainability.
Sunjay Vuppuluri, National Head, Food & Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research (FASAR), YES BANK said, “For a country that has to feed 17 per cent of the global population with only 11 per cent of the global arable land, there is an immense need for the private sector, academia and the community at large to partner with the government and develop sustainable agricultural production systems which enable food security for all, in an ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible manner.”
Sundar Raja Vadlamani, President-Supply Chain, SeedWorks said that seed being a primary input has the onus of ensuring food security. Right seed, the right technology and the right environment are the keys to sustainability and prosperity.
Suketu Doshi, Director, Sulphur Mills mentioned that serving agriculture with tech innovation can relish nutritious food produced in farms across the globe.