National symposium on ‘Self-Reliant Coastal Agriculture – 2022’ in Goa

Discussions were held on the integration of pisciculture and agriculture to make Goa a self-reliant state in the agriculture

The ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa has recently organised a National Symposium on ‘Self-Reliant Coastal Agriculture.’

The symposium has been organised in association with the Association for Coastal Agricultural Research as a part of the “Bharat Ka Amrut Mahotsav” to commemorate 75 Years of India’s Independence.

Chief Guest, Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for Tourism, Shipyard and Waterways briefed about the various constraints to take-up agriculture in the coastal ecosystem. The opening-up of the new avenue by the agro-ecotourism to enhance the farmers’ income was emphasised by the minister.

The Guest of Honour, Nilesh Cabral, Minister of Environment, Legislative affairs, Law & Judiciary and Public Works Department, Government of Goa stressed on the need to revive the 5th Century old and traditional agriculture system of Goa through the eco-friendly methods of bund stabilisation, integration of pisciculture and agriculture to make Goa a self-reliant state in the agriculture.

The Guest of Honour, AK Mishra, Secretary (Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science), Government of Goa urged the participants to deliberate on the inherent challenges for the self-reliant agriculture and address the nutritional security of the coastal area.

The Guest of Honor, Mahesh Patil, Chairman, Goa State Pollution Control Board, Government of Goa opined that Khazan land has to be revived through an integrated farming approach and encourage the agro-ecotourism to improve the farmers’ income.

The Guest of Honour, Dr Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), ICAR highlighted the significant contributions of the coastal agriculture despite, the complex and compounded problems in the coastal ecosystems. The importance of the high-density cashew plantations and harnessing the potential of the animal sector for doubling the coastal farmers’ income was underlined by the DDG.

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries, Dr Parveen Kumar, Director, ICAR-CCARI, Goa outlined the scenario of the coastal agriculture and provided a gist about the different sessions and deliberations to be conducted during the symposium.

The dignitaries also felicitated Amai Mahalinga Naik for his innovation in water conservation and converting barren lands into green and fertile lands.

About 260 participants participated in the inaugural session of the symposium.

Discussions were held on the integration of