Special Lecture by Dr. Raj Paroda at BAIF, Pune

Special Lecture by Dr. Raj Paroda at BAIF, Pune

by | Dec 20, 2019 | Events

“Think globally but act locally” was the appeal made by Dr. Raj Paroda, eminent Agricultural Scientist of international repute and former Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Educat ion (DARE) and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi and presently, Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi.
 
Dr. Paroda, a Padma Bhushan, FICCI and Norman Borlaug recipient, was delivering a Special Lecture on “Indian Agriculture – Present Challenges and Opportunities” at BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune on Friday. “Genetically modified crops, precision farming using sub surface drip, technology capital and strengthening agri-marketing through reforms in APMC, ECA, Cooperative and FPC Acts and improving land management systems by revisiting land laws to check land fragmentation and encourage lease systems for collective/contract farming and promotion of bio fortified crops were some of the technologies identified by Dr. Paroda for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” apart from improvement in our Social Progress Index (SPI) and not just the GDP. He called for scaling up of hybrid technology especially of single cross maize hybrids which has shown fastest growth rate of 4 to 5% among cereals and urged the farming community to increase hybrid coverage (including QPM) from its current 60% to at least 90%. He also quoted the success story of BT cotton whose area of production has reached 11 to 12.0 mha, nearly 95% of the total area in the country, He also advocated the twin pillar strategy of genetic resource management along with natural resource management for sustainable intensification and quoted the Rice Wheat Consortium of National Agricultural Research System (NARS) – Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) partnership programme to be the most successful eco-regional partnerships.
 
Conservation agriculture from the present 5.0 m ha to 10 m ha, biomass burning in India (40 mt of rice straw), managing crop residues through turbo happy seeder, on-farm water use efficiency and the paradigm shift in GM soyabean which is the leading oilseed crop now were also highlighted by him during his lecture. Inspite of achieving Green, White and Blue Revolutions, which changed the status of India from “begging bowl” to that of “self sufficiency”, the country still accounts for around 50% of the world’s malnourished children and has 22% of the people who live below the poverty line, Dr. Paroda lamented. The major challenges now, are household nutritional security, economic access to food, second generation problems of Green Revolution such as factor productivity decline, degradation of natural resources, especially land and water, increased incidence of pests and diseases and higher cost of inputs apart from the adverse effect of global climate change, he added. India, despite all its efforts to check its population (presently 1.3 billion), has added almost 15 million people (equivalent to one Australia) each year, thus nullifying the impact of agricultural advances. The SDGs are thus both an opportunity and a future vision for India, he stated.
 
Earlier, Dr. Paroda visited the BAIF Central Research Station at Urulikanchan and appreciated the adoption of cutting edge technologies such as livestock genomics, sexed-sorted semen technology, evaluation of jatropha genotypes, Adaptability Studies on Cactus / Mini-Apple and Aeroponics, Azolla, Aromatic Crops and Soil Health initiatives, apart from the involvement of women as change makers in agriculture. Shri. Uday D. Shirsalkar, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Maharashtra Regional Office, Pune, in his concluding remarks, highlighted land consolidation, capital formation, agricultural marketing and marketing reform and IOT in agriculture, value chain development and engagement of local youth who stay back in the villages and try farming, as some of the opp ortunities in Indian agriculture to overcome the challenges of fragmented land holding, shrinking of average land holding, lack of mechanization, higher consumption of pesticide in Maharashtra and inadequate storage facilities. Dr. Ashok B. Pande, Group Vice President, Livestock Development, BAIF, proposed the vote of thanks.
BAIF Foundation Day Celebrated

BAIF Foundation Day Celebrated

by | Aug 24, 2019 | Events

The 52nd Foundation Day and Annual Award ceremony of BAIF was celebrated on August 24, 2019 at BAIF’s Central Research Station, Urulikanchan. “Neer, Nari and Nadi”, are the basic components of a balanced eco system. Only when science i s used with sense, will community wisdom be recognised”, stated Dr. Rajendra Singh, Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh, Alwar, Rajasthan. Solar energy needs to be used effectively for water conservation and Mother Earth nurtured through sustainable watershed management, climate change adaptation and mitigation methodologies and by guiding the community towards a river- based approach.

“Hydraulic drought, a serious effect of climate change, is changing the production pattern of food and fruit crops with apple orchards being the worst a f f e c t e d w i t h s e v e r e destruction of apple crops, while frequent droughts with atleast 2-3 in quick successions have direct impact on the lives of vulnerable families”, stated Mr. Bharat Kakade, Executive Vice President of BAIF. While BAIF has shifted to climate proofing measures such as desert development in Rajasthan and water conservation measures in drought prone Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and climate resilient tree-based farming on dryland, it is necessary to assess which model is suitable for the community. Chemical- free farming has also been initiated on a pilot scale with the introduction of Integrated Renewable Energy and Sustainable Agriculture (IRESA) and Phosphate Rich Organic Manure.

Suman Self Help Group, a tribal group from Baretha village of Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, was awarded “Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar 2019 and Smt. Vijayatai Deshmukh Gaurav Puraskar” for Best Self Help Group in BAIF Programme for its efforts to enhance village hygiene and sanitation through construction of 45 toilets under Water, Sanitation and Hygiene ( WA S H) Programme and Swachh Bharat Programme, use of waste water to establish kitchen gardens for intake of nutritious vegetables, p r a c t i c i n g o r g a n i c farming to reduce risk of chemical hazards and adoption of smokeless chulhas to reduce health and environmental hazards.

Bajrang Women’s Group from Dixal village, Kaprada, South Gujarat won the “Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar 2019” for Second Best Self Help Group in BAIF Programme. The group launched a campaign for prohibition of alcohol in the village while establishing a grievance platform for marital disputes.

Sidheshwar Women’s Group from Shirapur village, Parner, Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, was the recipient of “Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar 2019” for Best Self Help Group in Maharashtra Programme. The group initiated Custom Hiring Centre through BAIF from 2017 and so far, they have earned more than Rs. 85,000 with 149 farmers from different villages availing hiring service of various farm implements. They have also p r o v i d e d a g r i c u l t u r a l i m p l e m e n t s t o n e e d y farmers free of charge.

Smt . Kempamani , Guddenahalli village , Holenarasipura, District Hassan, Karnataka was Best Dairy Farmer; Smt. Lalita Baraskar, Banspur village, Ghodadongri, District Betul, Madhya Pradesh was Best Agriculture Farmer; Smt. Nilu Devi, Sarobag, Dharhara, Munger, Bihar was the Best Farmer from Non-Potential Area; Shyam Sunder, Cattle Development Centre at Atai, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, was the Best Cattle Development Centre In-charge; Manoj Wakode, Cattle Development Centre at Wari , Kopargaon , Ahmednagar, Maharashtra was Best AI Technician from Multi-Activity Centre; Anil Kumar Mishra, Cattle Deve lopment Centre at Chandanbhati, Bolangir district of Odisha for Best AI Technician from Non-Potential Area. Prizes were a l so g i ven to meritorious students and for the best scientific paper and case study. The BAIF Annual Report, Research Report and a book on Mahua Recipes were also released on this occasion.

The BAIF Shri. Uday Shirsalkar, C G M , NABARD, Maharashtra Regional Office, Pune, complimented the women fraternity who were felicitated for their work and for their confidence to share their experience. Ms. Ritu Nathani, Director, Cybage Software Pvt. Ltd. and Head – Cybage CSR, Pune, appreciated the women for establishing their identity through their empowerment. Others who spoke on the occasion were Dr. Anand Sardeshmukh, former Director General, MCCI and Shri. Sunil Lalbhai, Trustee, BAIF. Earlier, Dr. Ashok B. Pande, Group Vice President, BAIF, welcomed the women groups. Dr. Jayant R. Khadse, Research Director, BAIF, proposed the vote of thanks.