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HomePosts Tagged "PM Narendra Modi"
Finance, India, Institutions, Interaction

The conference, themed ‘Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems,’ will gather around 1,000 delegates from universities and research institutions worldwide.

The 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), a prestigious triennial event in the field of agricultural economics, commenced successfully today with an inauguration by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, at the Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam Auditorium, National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex in New Delhi, India. Continuing through August 7th, the conference, themed ‘Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems,’ will gather around 1,000 delegates from universities and research institutions worldwide to present developments in the field and deliberate on global food system challenges.

The inaugural session featured an inspiring address by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Welcoming the gathering on behalf of one of the largest agricultural and allied sectors’ community, he stressed the importance of ancient Indian knowledge on agriculture, mentioning the ‘Krishi Parashar’, an almost 2000-year-old comprehensive treatise on agriculture with science and logic at its base and had in-depth knowledge on weather forecasting, rainwater harvesting, animal husbandry, storage among other topics. Recalling the past, when India’s food security was a matter of concern for the world, he remarked, “Today, India is a food surplus country; the largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second largest producer of foodgrain, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea and fish. India now provides solutions on global food and nutrition security and the country’s experience and knowledge are highly valuable for discussions on food systems transformation and will especially, benefit the Global South.” 

Highlighting the government’s push for research and development into climate-resilient crops, the Prime Minister said, “Nearly 1900 new climate resilient varieties have been handed to the farmers in the last 10 years, including rice varieties which require 25 percent less water than traditional varieties.” Acknowledging the seriousness of the nutrition related challenge, he presented millets as a solution given “the superfood’s quality of using minimum water to deliver maximum production” and expressed India’s willingness to share this superfood basket with the world. He also touched upon various initiatives for farmers’ welfare and advancement and the move towards digitization of agriculture, concluding by highlighting the importance of global knowledge sharing for a sustainable future for all.

 ICAE, organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), is a key forum for agricultural economics since 1929. Hosting the conference in India highlights the country’s proactive role in addressing global agricultural and developmental challenges and showcases its advancements in research and policy. The event is jointly organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (ICAR-NIAP), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), the Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA – India), the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE), and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR).

The conference theme addresses the urgent need for sustainable agricultural practices considering global issues such as climate change, natural resource degradation, rising costs, geopolitical conflicts and shocks. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, also graced the inaugural ceremony, emphasised the Indian government’s commitment to transforming the agricultural sector through innovative policies and sustainable practices. He remarked, “Our efforts are rooted in ensuring that we increase our food production in such a way that it safeguards human and soil health. We are facing so many challenges today, ranging from hunger and malnutrition to climate change and decreasing food production due to changes in temperature. In fact, the future of our generation itself is at stake. I am positive that the discussions that take place at this global platform in the coming days will strengthen food-related policies and their formulation in India and globally.” 

Thanking the Prime Minister for his presence and support, Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, noted that the conference is being held in India for the second time after 66 years and has generated much anticipation among the new generation of agricultural economists in the country. “This conference is intended to provide strong evidence to prepare a roadmap for the enhanced role of agriculture for development in this changing world”, he said.

Prof. Matin Qaim, President of IAAE, sharing his sentiments on the need for sustainable food systems said, “Agricultural economists have an important role to play in doing the relevant science, addressing urgent questions and coming up with recommendations for policies to steer our food systems to more sustainable pathways and that is what we will be discussing in the next few days.”

Renowned experts and thought leaders including Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Dr Thomas Hertel, former IAAE presidents Dr Johan Swinnen and Dr Joachim von Braun, and Dr Smita Sirohi, Organizing Secretary for the ICAE were present as part of the inaugural event.

The ICAE 2024 will feature a series of impactful sessions designed to address the most pressing issues in agricultural economics and sustainable development ranging from innovative farming practices, digital agriculture, improving value chains and markets, gender in food systems and climate-smart policies. Along with prominent plenaries and expert panels, the conference will feature presentations by young researchers in the field and workshops designed to foster in-depth discussions on critical themes. Additionally, attendees will also get to experience exhibitions by agribusinesses, attend cultural and social events such as mid-conference tours, cultural performances, and enjoy an offsite dinner, providing everyone with an immersive experience of India’s vibrant heritage.

Through its comprehensive program, ICAE 2024 aims to contribute to the larger vision of sustainable agricultural practices and innovations that can be a catalyst for transformation in the global agri-food systems. The discussions and collaborations fostered during the conference are expected to lead to impactful solutions and new research initiatives, ensuring resilience and sustainability in agriculture for future generations.

The conference, themed ‘Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food

AgroPolicy, Biofuel industry, India

The GBA aims to serve as a catalytic platform, fostering global collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption of biofuels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the leaders of Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mauritius and UAE, launched the Global Biofuel Alliance on 9 September 2023, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has thanked member nations who have joined the Global Biofuels Alliance. He underlined that the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance marks a watershed moment in the quest towards sustainability and clean energy.

The Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) is an initiative by India as the G20 Chair. The Alliance intends to expedite the global uptake of biofuels through facilitating technology advancements, intensifying utilisation of sustainable biofuels, shaping robust standard setting and certification through the participation of a wide spectrum of stakeholders. The alliance will also act as a central repository of knowledge and an expert hub. GBA aims to serve as a catalytic platform, fostering global collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption of biofuels.

As an alternative to conventional fossil fuels, biofuels can reduce carbon emissions by utilizing renewable sources such as biomass and agricultural waste. In order to contribute significantly to climate change mitigation, the GBA strives to bring sustainable alternatives into mainstream usage.

The GBA members include 19 countries and 12 international organisations. The G20 member countries supporting the alliance include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, South Africa and the US. While the four G20 Invitee countries supporting GBA are Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius and the UAE. Similarly, the eight non-G20 countries are Iceland, Kenya, Guyana, Paraguay, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Finland.

International organisations include the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Economic Forum, World LPG Organisation, International Energy Agency, International Energy Forum, International Renewable Energy Agency and World Biogas Association.

GBA Members constitute major producers and consumers of biofuels. USA (52 per cent), Brazil (30 per cent) and India (3 per cent), and contribute about 85 per cent share in production and about 81 per cent in consumption of ethanol.

The global ethanol market was valued at $99.06 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% by 2032 and surpass $162.12 billion by 2032.

GBA will support worldwide development and deployment of sustainable biofuels by offering capacity-building exercises across the value chain, technical support for national programs and promoting policy lessons-sharing.

The GBA aims to serve as a

Agrotech, India

Use of drones is a key component of the Centre’s mission of promoting digital agriculture to strengthen farming sector

Drones are becoming famous in every aspect of life—from social media reels to shipment delivery to traffic monitoring. So how can agriculture stay away? Drones have become a crucial agent for the rapid transformation of the agriculture sector worldwide. And India is no exception to it. The use of drones is a key component of the central government’s mission of promoting digital agriculture to strengthen the farming sector. State governments too are adopting it with vigour as they are experimenting with drones in farming and promoting their use.

Artificial Intelligence enabled drones are used for precision farming that increases productivity and thus farm income. Drones have multi-faceted uses. They make farm operations faster and more efficient. They also help farmers to save significant money by making optimum use of fertilisers and pesticides and by ensuring uniform sowing of seeds. Spraying chemicals is a time-consuming process and it poses a health hazard. Drones can fly at low height (1-3 metre) over the crops, which make the spraying of nutrients and pesticides effective and efficient, as well as allow farmers to assess standing crops through cameras. All this not just facilitates higher productivity but also brings down the expenses on crop inputs.

Farmers in the US, who grew corn, soybean and wheat could save around $1.3 billion every year by incorporating drones in their farm operations. There are reports that drone-led precision farming can reduce input cost by 18-20 per cent while enhancing yield by 30-100 per cent in India. Drones have shown they can be beneficial in planting seeds in the Indo-Gangetic plains, where the rice-wheat cropping system is prevalent.

Farmers can make crop surveillance of the field using infrared cameras and get real-time information about crop growth, infestation, and requirement of inputs. This helps farmers in responding to any problem sooner and take active measures to nip it in the bud. Applications of drones can also be used for mapping water spread areas, pest infestation, and livestock farming besides assisting farmers in adopting good agricultural practices (GAP). Crops can be contamination-free, making them get good export prices.

Government support and encouragement for drones was evident when the Prime Minister of India inaugurated India’s biggest Drone Festival – Bharat Drone Mahotsav in May 2022.

Prime Minister called the use of drones a “milestone” for Indian agriculture and expressed confidence it would create more opportunities. The government of India has extended huge subsidies to different agriculture-related instructors, farmers producers organisations (FPO) and custom hiring centres (CHC) for purchasing and promoting drones under a new scheme of Kisan Drone. These drones are helpful for government agencies also as they can be used for crop assessment of production estimates or to process farm insurance, digitisation of land records, and can expedite claim processing and bring transparency.

Many state governments have shown interest such as the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to procure 200 Kisan Drones, which would solve the problem of labour shortage and health hazards. As excessive rains flooded farms, Karnataka has decided to use drones for crop assessment to bring transparency. Tamil Nadu too has roped in drones as a part of the digital intervention to make agriculture and farming profitable and sustainable.Gujarat, Rajasthan too, have joined the journey of digital revolution.

Drones were used in 2020 to ward off locus attacks, saving millions of hectares of farmland. Farmers are getting first-hand experience in operating drones and their usefulness such as testing the moisture of soil, which is not possible through traditional ways. State governments are confident that drones will be game-changer not only for farmers but for the entire agri economy.

Despite knowing the importance of technology, our agriculture did not adopt it for years. However, we can see a gain in momentum now. Both central and state governments are keen on embracing it. The involvement of agri start-ups, FPOs and CHCs in drone technology will allow farmers especially those financially poor to try new technological solutions. As drones become affordable and easily accessible, more and more farmers will start using them. Moreover, drones can create employment opportunities in rural parts, especially for the tech-savvy youth and bring them back to farms. As they say, artificial intelligence is set to transform the world, drones are going to change the face of farming in the 21st century.

Use of drones is a key component

Acts & Schemes – Centre, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Allied Industry, Finance, Live Stock, Supply Chain

The PM emphasises various measures adopted by the government for the agri sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a webinar on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the agriculture sector. He discussed how the Budget will contribute to strengthening the sector. The webinar was focussed on ‘Smart Agriculture’- Strategies for implementation. Concerned Union Ministers, representatives of state governments, representatives from industry and academia and farmers through various Krishi Vigyan Kendras were present on the occasion.

At the outset, the Prime Minister noted the third anniversary of the launch of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. “This scheme has become a strong support for the small farmers of the country. Under the scheme, almost Rs 1.75 lakh crore has been given to 11 crore farmers,” he said. The Prime Minister talked about many new systems spanning from seed to market and also about the reforms in the old systems in the agriculture sector. 

“In just six years agriculture budget has been increased manifold. Agriculture loans for farmers were also increased by two and half times in the last seven years”, he added. He pointed out that during the difficult period of the pandemic, three crore farmers were given Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) as part of the special drive and the facility of KCC was extended to farmers engaged in animal husbandry and fisheries. Micro-irrigation network has also been strengthened to the great benefit of the small farmers,” he said.

The Prime Minister elaborated on the seven ways in which the Budget proposes to make agriculture modern and smart. Firstly, The target is to undertake natural farming on mission mode within five kilometres on both the banks of the Ganges. Secondly, modern technology in agriculture and horticulture will be made available to the farmers. Thirdly, emphasis has been laid on strengthening Mission Oil Palm to reduce the import of edible oil. Fourthly, new logistics arrangements will be made through PM Gati-Shakti’s plan for the transportation of agricultural products. The fifth solution in the Budget is better organisation of agri-waste management and increasing farmers’ income through waste to energy solutions. Sixthly, more than 1.5 lakh post offices will provide services like regular banking so that farmers are not troubled. Seventh, Agri research and education syllabus will be changed as per demands of modern times about skill development and human resource development.

The Prime Minister noted the year 2023 is recognised as the International Year of Millets and called upon the corporate world to come forward in branding and promoting Indian millets. He also asked major Indian missions abroad to organise seminars and other promotional activities to popularise the quality and benefits of Indian millets. The Prime Minister also asked for leveraging increasing awareness for environmental-friendly lifestyle and resulting market for natural and organic products. He exhorted the KVKs to create awareness for natural farming by adopting a village each for the promotion of natural farming.

Modi emphasised the need for increased soil testing culture in India. Highlighting the government’s focus on the Soil Health Cards, he called upon the startups to come forwards to facilitate the practice of soil testing at regular intervals.

Emphasising innovations in the irrigation field, the Prime Minister underlined the government’s focus on ‘per drop, more crop’. He said there are many possibilities for the corporate world in this too. He also mentioned the transformation that will be brought about by the Ken- Betwa link Pariyojana in the Bundelkhand region. He also reiterated the need to quickly complete the pending irrigation projects.

The Prime Minister stressed that artificial intelligence is going to completely change the trend related to agriculture and farming in the 21st century. The increasing use of drones in farming is part of this change. “Drone technology will be available on a scale only when we promote agri-startups. In the last three to four years, more than 700 agri startups have been created in the country”, he added.

He said that the government has been trying to increase the scope of processed food and ensure international standards of quality. 

The Prime Minister emphasised the management of agri-residue (parali). “For this, some new measures have been taken in this budget, due to which carbon emission will be reduced and farmers will also get income,” he said. He also asked to explore ways of using agri-waste for packaging.

The Prime Minister also touched upon the potential in the field of ethanol where the government is moving ahead with a goal of 20 per cent blending. The blending has reached near 8 per cent compared to 1-2 per cent in 2014, he informed.

The webinar was attended by Union Minister for Agriculture and Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textile, Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, Minister for Food Processing Industries, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Minister of State for Agriculture, Kailash Chaudhary, Minister of State for Cooperation BL Verma, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan and other ministers, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Prof. Rajiv Kumar and Secretaries of concerned Departments, KVKs, ICAR Institutes, ATMA and farmers of the country.

 The webinar had an open discussion on five breakout sessions namely Natural Farming and its outreach, Emerging High-Tech and Digital Agri Ecosystem, Bringing Back Glory of Millets; Moving Towards Aatmanirbharta in Edible Oil, Sahkarita Se Samridhi, Financing Investment In Value Chain Infrastructure in Agriculture & Allied Sector with Stakeholders of respective fields. 

The PM emphasises various measures adopted by