Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 16: A three days international conference on “Sustainable Agricultural Innovations for Resilient Agri-Food Systems” concludes today at SKUAST-Jammu. The conference is being organized by Indian Ecological Society in collaboration in collaboration with Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu w.e.f. October 13-15, 2022.
Prof. J.P. Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu and chief guest of the valedictory session expressed his satisfaction and happiness on the successful completion of the three days Indian Ecological Society International Conference. He lauded the organizers for inviting scientists around the globe on a common platform at SKUAST-Jammu for sharing their rich research experience among the participants.
Prof. Sharma appreciated scientists and students for excellent presentations of their outstanding research work. He also expressed his willingness to engage SKUAST-Jammu in Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Universities from which scientists were invited. Prof. Sharma deliberated about the revolutions in agriculture and said that currently we are living in the era of artificial intelligence which promotes precision agriculture by using drone technology, automation and sensors. Prof. Sharma informed that drones are provided to KVKs all over the country for making agricultural operations more precise and technical. Vice Chancellor showed his deep concern about declining agricultural land, land degradation, air, soil and water pollution, depleting water resources and injudicious use of inputs. He emphasized on reducing cost of cultivation, increasing water and fertilizer use efficiency and ensuring safety of farmers during field operations. He also stressed upon processing, value addition and marketing of agriculture produce to avoid wastage of surplus produce. He said that India has achieved food security but now the focus should be to ensure nutritional security of people. He requested the organizers to communicate the recommendations of the conference to the planners, policy makers, stakeholders and concerned agencies for its effective and timely implementation among the end users.
During the conference Prof. Martin Qaim, Director Center for Development, University of Bonn, Gemany, Prof. Z.R. Khan, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. T.V.K. Singh, Former Dean of Agriculture, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India & Consultant, ICRISAT, Dr. VenkateshHubli, Director of Research, Savannah Seeds Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Rajesh K. Anand, Advisor, IPL Biological Ltd., Dr. B.M. Prasanna, Director CGIAR Research Programme MAIZE & Global Maize Program, CIMMYT, Mexico and Dr. Mahalingam Govindaraj, Senior Scientist, CGIAR’s Harvest Plus, Programme, CIAT, Columbia presented the lead papers. Dr. M. Kassie, Principal Scientist, and Dr. Zeyaur R. Khan, Principal Scientist, ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya, Prof. K. S. Risam, Former Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu and Prof. B. S. Hansra, Former ADG, ICAR also addressed the gathering. Prof. B. S. Hansra gave a detailed report about poster sessions held during the conference in which 158 posters were displayed.
Earlier, Dr. S. K. Gupta, Registrar, presented the formal welcome address. Prof. A. K. Dhawan, President Indian Ecological Society briefed the delegates about the International Conference. During the conference, poster presentation awards and appreciation awards were also distributed among the faculty and students.
Dr. Pradeep Wali, Director Research, Dr. K. K. Sharma, Director Agriculture, Dr. Rakesh Nanda, Director Education, Dr. M. S. Bhadwal, Dean, F.V.Sc. & A.H., Dr. S.E.H. Rizvi, Dean, F.B.Sc., Dr. Sushil Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Dr. J. S. Soodan, Dean, Faculty of Dairy Technology, head of the Divisions, faculty members, delegates and students were also present during the valedictory function. Proceedings of the programme were conducted by Dr. Sandeep Sehgal and vote of thanks was presented by Dr. Rajinder Peshin, Organizing Secretary, IESIC-2022. |
