‘SDGs are necessary for the food security’

‘SDGs are necessary for the food security’

PUNE: Dr Raj Paroda, former DG of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said that major challenges before the country are household nutritional security, economic access to food, second generation problems of the green revolution. However, sustainable development goals (SDGs) have become the future now.

Dr Paroda, who was also the Secretary of Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) was speaking on ‘Indian Agriculture- Present Challenges and Opportunities’ at BAIF Development Research Centre in Warje on Friday. 

Dr Paroda lamented that despite 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.

Genetically modified crops, precision farming using subsurface 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 to encourage lease systems for collective/contract farming and promotion of biofortified crops are some of the technologies identified by Dr Paroda for achieving SDGs apart from improvement in our social progress index (SPI) and not just the GDP. 

“India, despite all its efforts to check its population (presently 1.3 billion), has added almost 15 million people every year, thus nullifying the impact of agricultural advances. The SDGs are thus both an opportunity and a future vision for India,” he added.

Uday Shirsalkar, Chief General Manager of NABARD, Maharashtra Regional Office, Pune, highlighted land consolidation, capital formation, agricultural marketing, marketing reform and IOT in agriculture, value chain development and engagement of local youths who stay back in the villages and try farming as some of the opportunities in Indian agriculture to overcome the challenges of fragmented land holding, shrinking of average land holding, lack of mechanisation, higher consumption of pesticide in Maharashtra and inadequate storage facilities.

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