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New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus at Patancheru, Hyderabad, and kickstarted its 50th Anniversary celebrations. He also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Modi also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion. Governor Telangana, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and G Kishan Reddy were among those present on the occasion.
The PM noted the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami and congratulated ICRISAT for 50 years. Underlining the importance of next 25 years for both the country and also for ICRISAT, he stressed the need for new goals and working for them. Modi lauded ICRISAT for their contribution in helping agriculture in large part of the world including India and appreciated its contribution in water and soil management, improvement in crop variety, on-farm diversity,and livestock integration. He also praised their holistic approach in integrating farmers with their markets and promoting pulses and chick pea production in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “Your research and technology have helped making agriculture easy and sustainable,” Modi said, according to a PIB release.
The PM said that the worst affected by climate change are the people on the last rung of development with little resources. He reiterated India’s request to the world to pay special attention to the climate changes. He talked of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment; P3 – Pro planet people movements and India’s net zero target by 2070. “Pro planet people is a movement that connects every community, every individual with climate responsibility to tackle the climate challenge. This is not limited to just words, but is also reflected in the actions of the Government of India,,” he added.
Referring to 15 Agro-Climatic Zones and 6 seasons of the country, the Prime Minister highlighted the depth of ancient experience of Indian agriculture. He pointed out that India’s focus is on the fusion of ‘back to basic’ and ‘march to future’ to protect its farmers from climate challenge. “Our focus is on our more than 80% farmers who are small and need us the most,”,he said.
He mentioned another dimension of changing India i.e. digital agriculture which he termed as India’s future and stressed that talented Indian youth can contribute a great deal in this. He listed areas like crop assessment, land records digitisation, spraying insecticides and nutrients by drones which are witnessing increased use of technology and artificial intelligence. “India’s efforts are increasing relentlessly for empowering farmers through digital technology,” he said.
Modi emphasized that in the Amrit Kaal, India is focussing on inclusive growth along with higher agriculture growth. Women in agri-sector, are being supported through self-help groups. “Agriculture has the potential to take a large chunk of population out of poverty and take them towards better life-style. This Amrit Kaal will also provide new means to the farmers of geographically difficult areas,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that India is working on a dual strategy. On the one hand, a large part of the land is being brought under irrigation through water conservation and connecting of rivers. Water use efficiency through micro irrigation is being encouraged in areas with limited irrigation, on the other.
Modi said that National Mission for self-reliance in edible oils indicates India’s new approach. The Mission aims to increase palm oil area by 6 lakh hectare. “This will help Indian farmers at every level and will prove very beneficial for the famers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said that India’s goal is not just increasing foodgrains production. India has enough surplus foodgrains to run one of the world’s big food security programme. “We are focusing on food security as well as nutrition security. With this vision, we have developed many bio-fortified varieties in the last 7 years”. ICRISAT is an international organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia & sub-Saharan Africa.