New Delhi: Adopting a sustainable approach to practicing agriculture should involve meeting demand of key stakeholders including farmers and consumers as well as ecology, said Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO, NRAA, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Speaking at FICCI’s Agriculture Summit and Awards Dr Dalwai said the production system needs to spread horizontally beyond the agronomic crops by focussing on the nutritional needs of the consumers. "We need to move from primary to secondary agriculture by reducing food waste, increasing shelf life, connecting to the markets, and meeting different tastes and preferences."
“We must also now focus on Ecosystem- Based Agriculture (EBA), which goes beyond Integrated Farming Systems (IFS). The difference between EBA and IFS or ILS (Integrated Livelihood System) is that it considers the need for a participative approach to the practice of agriculture,” he said.
Dr Dalwai also said: “The first principle of sustainability, before we talk about improved technology among others, is to have a more egalitarian management system that will consider tapping the resources in a more efficient and sustainable manner by broadening our approach to agriculture technology and practices."
Sustainability needs to start from research and development. The other paradigm shift that must happen is in secondary agriculture and that is where the industry has a role to play. This shift will lie in digital technology, fin tech, controlled atmospheric production systems and change in the extension systems, he added
Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary, APEDA, complimented FICCI on acknowledging the industry for the initiatives taken towards farmer income enhancement. “In this transformation of agriculture in the last seven decades, starting from the Green Revolution to the White Revolution, and now leading to sustainable agriculture, the agricultural policies by the government, supported by the stakeholders, we have now come to a stage where from being a net importer, we have become a leader in agricultural production and now play an active role in agri-exports,” he said.
The country has immense potential to revolutionise the agri-basket and horticultural basket of the country. We have been able to not only tap the middle east market but the quality conscious market of Europe as well, he further added.
T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and Group President, TAFE Ltd, said that cutting down wastage at the farm gate is the first step to sustainability. The second part of sustainability is to preserve what you grow. “India can be a food bowl for many countries. The central government has done a lot to change the agricultural policies that have added phenomenal strength to agriculture,” he noted.
Sanjay Sacheti, Co-Chair, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and Executive Director and Country Head, Olam Agro India Pvt Ltd, said that sustainable agriculture has two aspects– farmer livelihoods, and promoting resource use efficiency in agriculture. “There is a huge opportunity in commodity value chains where industry participates through appropriate risk-taking and with the right level of entrepreneurship,” he said.
Rahoul Sawani, President-South Asia, Corteva Agriscience, said that globally, the current climate challenges continue to demonstrate the critical role of sustainable practices and the vulnerability of the value chain in agriculture. It has demonstrated the need for smart and sustainable agriculture by putting the Indian farmer and their needs and aspirations at the centre of the engagement.
Sunjay Vuppuluri, National Head, Food and Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research (FASAR), YES BANK, said that Indian agriculture has grown phenomenally over the last seven decades since independence. While this growth has aptly addressed the food security needs of the nation till now, the agriculture sector faces new challenges – as expectations from agriculture diversify beyond food security, towards sustainable and climate resilient production. /BI/
