G20 Agriculture working group meeting begins in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Agriculture Working Group (AWG) Ministerial Meeting of G20 began on Thursday in Hyderabad in which more than 200 delegates from G20 member countries, invited countries and international organizations, including Ministers and Director Generals attended the meeting.

The first day of the three-day G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting began with the inauguration of an exhibition by Minister of State, MoA&FW, Kailash Choudhary. The exhibitors displayed their achievements in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.

“The exhibition included 71 stalls in the fields of Waste to Wealth management, post-harvest, smart and precision agriculture, Agri innovations, value chain management etc.

Of the 71 stalls, seven stalls have been allotted to the Government of Telangana for showcasing their recent achievements,” the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said.

“Post the inauguration of the exhibition, the day was dedicated to the Agriculture Deputies Meeting with the delegations from member countries, invited countries and international organizations, followed by side events in the form of the panel discussions,’ the release stated.

The Ministry further said, “The first side event was based on ‘Managing Agribusiness for Profit, People and Planet.’ The keynote address was presented by the Director General, of IFPRI, Dr Johan Swinnen.

The discussion was moderated by the Former Secretary, of DA&FW, Dr Shobhana Kumar Pattnayak.”

The session’s panellists were from various private companies which are involved in building robust supply chain systems. The panel discussion focused on bringing out concrete examples of managing trade-offs between profit, people, and the planet, the release said.

“They also discussed ways to identify solutions, policies, and programs to achieve greater sustainability for food systems at large. The event was followed by a Question and Answer session with the audience,” it stated.

The second side event revolved around the topic “Connecting the Digitally Disconnected: Harnessing the Power of Digital Technologies in Agriculture.”

The event was initiated by the Under Secretary, of Agriculture for Rural Development, USDA, and event Chair, Xochitl Torres Small and the keynote presentation was made by the Director General, ADB (Asian Development Bank), Kenichi Yokoyam.

The discussion was moderated by Chairman, of the Centre for the Digital Future, Rentala Chandrashekhar. The session constituted panellists from various Agri Tech companies, start-ups, and international organizations.

The panel discussion was focused on exploring strategies for scaling up and replicating the best practices of digital agriculture initiatives and on discussing the nature of interventions made by the government and stakeholders in promoting and supporting the bridging of the gap for digitally disconnected populations, the release stated.

Both events concluded with the closing comments by the moderators and the presentation of mementoes to all participants.

India ready to collaborate with G20 countries in addressing challenges in Agriculture sector, says Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday expressed India’s readiness to collaborate with G20 countries in addressing challenges faced by the agriculture sector.

Speaking at the meeting, Tomar said, “The government is encouraging crop diversification in order to enable the farmers to get more revenue and minimise losses. Many initiatives have been implemented in states like Punjab and Haryana.”

He hoped that farmers across the country will also adopt the changes in the coming years.

The government is also encouraging organic farming and has spent Rs 1500 crores so far on implementation, he added.

Union Minister Tomar said, “India is developing climate-resilient seeds so as to mitigate crop losses due to climate change and such initiatives will be useful to other countries facing similar climate change-related issues.”

G20 meetings have been receiving overwhelming responses from foreign delegates and international organisations.

The inaugural session will be held tomorrow which will be followed by ministerial meetings. On the agenda issues related to food security, nutrition, digital technologies, agribusiness, climate change, sustainable agriculture etc for discussed, the release stated.