LUCKNOW: An international seminar was held by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), to discuss strategies to boost income of farmers through intervention of CGIAR technologies, at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research here on Tuesday.
The seminar hosted nearly 60 CGIAR employees as well as representatives from research institutes and stakeholders from all over the country that are tied up with the aforementioned global organisation. The conference was chaired by Dr. Temina Lallani-Shariff, regional director for South Asia and all CGIAR centres established therein. The scientists and researchers discussed the plausibility of expanding potato farming, bettering irrigation systems, introducing new varieties of seeds to speed up harvest and much more. Minister of state for agriculture, agriculture education and agriculture research Surya Pratap Shahi was the chief guest at the event.
“Productivity is not the issue anymore, it is nutrition security that needs to be improved,” said Lallani-Shariff and spoke on the importance of adapting technologies to fit the needs of different geographical and nutritional requirements in Uttar Pradesh. Representatives from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre spoke about introducing new varieties of barley in Bundelkhand and using crop improvement technologies to further enhance the high yield region. The experts also spoke about the One-CGIAR initiative which is focused on delivering science and innovation for the advancement and transformation of food, land and water systems in the climate crisis.
The representative from International Water Management Institute talked about underground transfer of floods for irrigation, the pilot project for which was conducted in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The IWMI official explained that since UP had such a wide network of canals, dams and ponds, the expansion of this project the state could simplify tackling droughts and floods as well as control groundwater.
The convention also heard representatives of International Rice Research Institute, WorldFish (a non-profit research organisation studying aquatic food systems), International Potato Centre, International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, and many other global research institutes, on how UP could adapt to technologies to better harvest and thereby boost farmers’ income.