ICAR chief calls for increase in oilseed production

Hyderabad: The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Director General, Prof Trilochan Mohapatra, called to redefine the role of Agronomy as it is an important part of agriculture.

Addressing the inaugural session of the 5th International Agronomy Congress on Agri Innovation to Combat Food and Nutritional Challenges held at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) on Tuesday, Prof Mohapatra said, "We have surplus agricultural produce, and the agriculture export has increased to more than 40 per cent compared to last year. There is a tremendous increase in export of wheat, basmati rice, sugarcane products and cotton. However, the oil seed production needs to be increased as we are still importing from other countries."

The ICAR chief pointed out there was a gap in the production of potential crops and the agronomical intervention could help in filling that by addressing the management issues through the integration of international knowledge and local expertise.

He suggested reducing the cost of production using zero-tillage, conservation agriculture, weed management and organic practices. Agronomists can play a significant role in addressing soil problems, soil-less agriculture, hydroponic, agronomy of horticultural crops, he said. Prof V Praveen Rao, President of Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA) and Vice-Chancellor, PJTSAU in his inaugural address said, "India has achieved a remarkable progress in agriculture production with an increase in food production by three times, horticulture by 10 times and fish production by 12 times to feed the country's population of 1.3 billion. However, at the same time, it will be a challenging task ahead to further increase the production to 1.6 times by 2070, to feed the increasing population."

Prof Samunder Singh, president of International Weed Science Society, Brazil mentioned that the Indian agriculture scenario has shifted from begging to surplus. He advised using robots and drones in agriculture for efficient utilisation and site-specific application of inputs.

Prof P V Vara Prasad, president, Crop Science Society of America, USA and Dr Panjab Singh, Chancellor, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University(RLBCAU) also spoke on the occasion.

As part of the 5th International Agronomy Congress, eminent scientists were awarded for their achievements in Agronomy and 10 publications were released. Organising Secretary of the congress Dr V K Singh, Director, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad gave a vote of thanks.