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HomePosts Tagged "Droupadi Murmu"
AgroPolicy, India, Sustainability

Murmu said that making our agri-food systems more just, inclusive and equitable is not only desirable but also crucial for the well-being of the planet and humankind

Droupadi Murmu, President of India, inaugurated an International Research Conference on ‘From research to impact: Towards Just and Resilient Agri-Food Systems’, being hosted by CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in New Delhi.

The President said that at the global level, we have seen that women have been kept outside the agri-food systems for long. She added that they form the bulk of the lowest pyramid of the agriculture structure, but they are denied the opportunity to climb the ladder to assume the role of decision-makers. She said that across the world, they are held back and stopped by discriminatory social norms and barriers to knowledge, ownership, assets, resources and social networks. She further said that their contribution is not recognised, their role is marginalised and their agency is denied in the whole chain of the agri-food systems and this story needs to change. She stated that in India, we have been witnessing those changes with women getting more empowered through legislative and governmental interventions.

The President said that modern women are not abla but sabla, that is, not helpless but powerful. She added that we need not only women’s development but women-led development. She said that making our agri-food systems more just, inclusive and equitable is not only desirable but also crucial for the well-being of the planet and humankind.

The President said that climate change is an existential threat and we need to act now, act fast and act swiftly. She said that climate change, global warming, melting ice caps and extinction of species are disrupting food production and the agri-food cycle is also not sustainable and eco-friendly. It is hindering climate action and causing an increase in greenhouse gases. She highlighted that our agri-food systems are stuck in a vicious cycle and we need to break this “chakravyuh”. She also emphasised the need to increase biodiversity and restore ecosystems so that food and nutritional security can be assured through the agri-food systems along with a more prosperous and equitable future for all.

The President said that for ecologically sustainable, ethically desirable, economically affordable and socially justifiable production, we need research which can enable conditions to reach these goals. She added that we need a systematic understanding of how to transform the agri-food systems. She said that the agri-food systems should be resilient and agile so that they can withstand shocks and disruptions to make nutritious and healthy diets more accessible, available and affordable for all and they should be more just, equitable and sustainable. She expressed confidence that during the next four days, the conference will consider all the issues and will pave the way for a positive transformation of the agri-food systems.

Murmu said that making our agri-food

AgroPolicy, India, Sustainability

President Murmu conferred the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Communities’ Award ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Reward’ and ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Recognition’ awards to the invited Indian farmers

Droupadi Murmu, President of India, inaugurated the first ‘Global Symposium on Farmers’ Rights’ (GSFR), in a ceremony held at ICAR Convention Centre, National Agricultural Science Centre, New Delhi. President Murmu conferred the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Communities’ Award ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Reward’ and ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Recognition’ awards to the invited Indian farmers. These awards are instituted by the PPVFR Authority as per the provisions of the PPVFR Act, 2001. She also inaugurated the newly constructed ‘Plant Authority Bhawan’, the office of the PPVFR Authority, and an online plant variety ‘Registration Portal’. Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, MoS Kailash Chaudhury and Secretary, Manoj Ahuja were also present on the occasion.

In her address, Droupadi Murmu congratulated organisers FAO and the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty) for appropriately choosing India as the country to host the prestigious meeting, given its rich agricultural, cultural and ethnic diversity. She welcomed the delegates in the land of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumabakam’ (the world is one family), a philosophy deeply ingrained in India’s culture and traditions. She said that farmers have toiled and enterprisingly developed or conserved landraces, wild relatives and traditional varieties of crops, and provided the building blocks for the modern crop breeding programs, thus ensuring food and nutritional security for human beings and livestock alike. She said that holding GFSR was very appropriate, as farmers are primary food producers (‘annadatta’) and only if there is food then there is a body, and if there is a body then any work gets done. That is why farmers need to be saluted and it is our duty to protect their rights and future.

President Murmu conferred the ‘Plant Genome Saviour

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Sustainability

President of India inaugurates the 2nd Indian Rice Congress at Cuttack

Rice is the cornerstone of food security in India and also a key factor for our economy said Droupadi Murmu, President of India. She was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the 2nd Indian Rice Congress at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute.

The President said that though India is the leading consumer and exporter of rice today, the situation was different when the nation became free. In those days, we depended on imports to meet our food requirements, and the nation often lived what was called a ship-to-mouth existence. If the nation could overcome that dependency and become the largest exporter, a lot of credit goes to the National Rice Research Institute. The institute has contributed immensely to India’s food security and also to improving farmers’ lives.

The President said that in the last century, as irrigation facilities expanded, rice came to be grown in new places and found new consumers. The paddy crop requires high amounts of water but many parts of the world are facing severe water shortages due to climate change. Droughts, floods and cyclones are now more frequent, making rice cultivation more vulnerable. She said that even as rice has broken new ground, there are places where traditional varieties are facing challenges. Thus, the task before us today is to find the middle path: preserving and conserving traditional varieties on one hand, and maintaining ecological balance on the other. Another challenge is to save the soil from excessive use of chemical fertilizers, which are considered necessary for modern rice cultivation. We need to reduce our dependence on such fertilizers in order to keep our soil healthy. She expressed confidence that scientists are at work to devise eco-friendly rice production systems.

President of India inaugurates the 2nd Indian

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Award, E-commerce, India

E-NAM empowers citizens by way of digitalisation through ease of operation, accessibility, transparency and efficiency of operations for better price discovery for farmers

E-NAM, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, wins the Platinum Award in the Digital Empowerment of Citizens Category in Digital India Awards 2022 held in New Delhi. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, as Chief Guest of the event, has conferred the Digital India Awards, 2022 to N Vijaya Lakshmi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, in the presence of Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Railways & Communications and other dignitaries.

Digital India Awards (DIA) has been instituted by MeitY, under the aegis of National Portal of India to encourage and honour innovative digital solutions/ exemplary initiatives by various government entities in the realm of Digital Governance. Digital India Awards 2022 aims to inspire and motivate not only government entities but also startups in fulfilling the Digital India vision. Digital India Awards 2022 were given under 07 different categories viz. Digital Empowerment of Citizens, Public Digital Platforms, Digital Initiatives in Collaboration with Start-ups, Digital Initiative for ease of doing business, Data sharing and use for socioeconomic development, Digital Initiatives at Grassroots level, Best Web & Mobile initiatives etc. Platinum, Gold & Silver awards have been given to the winning teams under different categories.

E-NAM is a digital platform integrating 1260 APMC mandis across 22 States and 3 UTs to facilitate online trading of 203 agriculture and horticulture commodities to enable farmers to realise better remunerative prices for their produce. E-NAM is catalysing the digital transformation of mandi operations and e- trading of agricultural commodities. As on 31.12.2022, more than 1.74 Crore farmers & 2.39 Lakh traders have been registered on E-NAM portal. A total trade consisting of 69 million metric tonnes of worth Rs 2.42 lakh crore has been recorded on e-NAM platform.

E-NAM is providing various benefits/ facilities to farmers & other stakeholders such as providing access to prevailing commodity price on mobile app, GPS based feature capturing E-NAM mandis and mandi prices within ~100 kms radius along with route map, Advance lot registration, SMS alert on final bid price of the lot & payment receipt, Real time competitive price bidding through E-NAM, weighment integration for accurate weight, bidding progress available on mobile, facilitates direct trade between farmer and trader, direct payment to Farmer’s bank account, reduction in the transaction costs of buyers and sellers, FPO trading module to facilitate FPOs to e-trade through E-NAM  etc.

Further with the launch of “Platform of Platforms (PoPs) under E-NAM, a digital ecosystem has been created that leverages the expertise of individual service platforms across various segments of Agri value chain. 

E-NAM empowers citizens by way of digitalisation