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International conference on rainfed agriculture in Hyderabad from Jan. 29 to 31

Hyderabad: ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad is organizing an international conference on “Rainfed Agriculture: Building Pathways for Resilience & Sustainable Livelihoods” form January 29 to 31 at ICAR-CRIDA here.

Rainfed agriculture plays a crucial role globally, providing food, fibre, and other essential commodities for millions of people. In India, rainfed agriculture is practiced in about 48 per cent of the cultivated area of the country producing about 40 per cent of rice, 88 per cent of pulses, 77 per centof total oilseed production in the country, supports 72 per cent of animal population and provides livelihood for about 61 per cent of the rural population.

However, the variability of rainfall, limited access to resources, and land degradation pose substantial hurdles. Monsoon dependence, climate change, land ownership, low water use efficiency, land degradation, low productivity are some of the major issues plaguing rainfed agriculture in India. The major challenge of rainfed agriculture would be to sustain the livelihoods of the small and marginal farmers and to enhance their income by various means.

In the absence of proactive measures, rainfed farming will no longer be attractive and retaining farmers may be difficult.

With this in background, the international conference will be organised at ICAR-CRIDA on the theme “Rainfed Agriculture: Building Pathways for Resilience & Sustainable Livelihoods”. The proposed international conference is aimed to bring together the researchers, farmers, NGOs, policy makers to discuss on research outcomes, the successful initiatives made for development of rainfed regions by state, central governments, NGOs etc, latest technological interventions adopted in different states, policy support needed to support rainfed farmers and to enhance farm income.

Several themes and topics have been considered for symposia during the International conference. They are Resource Characterization, Conservation, Management and Governance, Livelihood Diversification for Risk mitigation and Ecosystem Services, Crop Improvement and Management for Biotic & Abiotic Stress Mitigation, Sustainable Soil Management for Resilient Rainfed Agro-ecosystem, Next-Gen Technologies: AI & ML, Remote Sensing, Modelling, Drones, Enabling Technology & Knowledge Dissemination for Scaling Impacts, Resilience Through Livestock and Fisheries in Rainfed Regions, Agroforestry and Horticulture for Risk Minimization, and Mechanization, Processing and Value chains for Rainfed Crops and Systems.

The conference will have two interaction sessions, viz., Farmer and Scientist interaction on Rainfed Agriculture-Pathways for Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods and a session on Industry-Scientist-Policy Interface on Climate Resilient Rainfed Agriculture. Besides, two panel discussions on Conservation Agriculture for Rainfed Cropping Systems and Carbon Trading in Agriculture are scheduled during the conference.

About 700 participants including farmers will be attending the conference from various parts of the country. There will be plenary lectures, key note presentations from eminent scientists, oral and poster presentations by the participants on various research themes.

The conference will debate on various important aspects related to rainfed agriculture such as technologies for water harvesting and efficient use of harvested water, soil and water conservation, soil health management, climate resilient crops and practices, access to credit and insurance, options for livelihood improvement, market linkages, value chains, policy support for building a more resilient and sustainable rainfed production system in the country.

The outcomes of the conference will be released as recommendations for further fine tuning research and policy guidance for the development of rainfed areas in the country.


( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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