Focus on enhancing rice productivity and quality, sustainable rice farming and biotic-stress management in rice
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), on December 8, 20202, inaugurated the three day ’1st Virtual Indian Rice Congress – 2020’ organized by the Association of Rice Research Workers at the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, Odisha. Dr Mathew Morrel, Director General, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines was the Guest of Honor. Dr Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, Government of India delivered the Plenary Lecture. On the occasion, a panel discussion was held on ’Reinventing rice production system to achieve the SDGs’ in which 9 Panelists across the country with different backgrounds participated in the deliberations.
The Congress was organized in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad; ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar; Society for Advancement of Rice Research, Hyderabad and IRRI-South Asia Regional Centre, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The theme of the Congress was ’Rice Research and Development for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals’ with the objective to provide a platform for all rice stakeholders to interact and exchange ideas about the recent advances in rice science and brainstorm key policies to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and to sustain the rice cultivation in India. Enhancing rice productivity and quality, sustainable rice farming, biotic-stress management in rice and rice for livelihood security, equity and profitability were the primary focus.
