Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director-General Trilochan Mohapatra on Friday urged scientists in the field of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and livestock to come up with decisive strategies and help India at time when it was grappling with droughts for two years in succession.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked us to come up with plans that will help people double farm productivity, as also the income of farmers. We need to leverage technology and ensure that we have abundant number of climate-resistant crop varieties,” he said, at the inaugural of a 2-day ICAR Regional Committee-II meeting at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management here.
Having produced 252 million tonnes of foodgrain last year and suffered two consecutive drought years, the meeting needed to address the issue of bridging the demand and supply contrast, especially in foodgrain production that largely tended to stagnate.
However, the nation could take pride too, for achieving 116 million tonnes in milk production in 2015-16 and ensuring a per capita availability that was much higher than the World Health Organisation’s average.
The ICAR region comprises Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal. Also present was Minister for Animal Resources Development-West Bengal Swapan Debnath. Presenting a profile of animal husbandry and the dairy sectors in West Bengal, the Minister explained how the food habit of Bengalis was quite different from people in other States.
Source: The Hindu
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