ICSA 2012 CONCLUDES AT PAU

LUDHIANA, NOVEMBER 29:



A three-day international conference on "Sustainable Agriculture for Food and Livelihood Security – ICSA 2012," organized by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) concluded here today. Earlier, the technical session on "Joining Hands for Economic Development" was held. A panel discussion among the farm experts took place which was chaired by a well-known scientist, Dr Gurdev Singh Khush, Adjunct Professor, University of California, Davis, USA, and co-chaired by Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU.

In his remarks, Dr Khush said that monoculture is not good for farm sustainability. The water resources of the Punjab state are being affected and that there is no substitution for the rice crop, he observed. Saying that there is one crop which could substitute rice i.e. "hybrid maize," he emphasized the need to suggest government to provide minimum support price for this particular crop. Dr Khush expressed that even GMO (genetically modified organism) maize will be an excellent substitution for the rice crop. Stressing that the value addition of food products is also vital for agri-sustainability and income enhancement of farmers, he said that vegetables and fruits hold a lot of scope and have the potential to replace the rice crop. He impressed upon the PAU to impart training to the young entrepreneurs for the agro-industry. Dr Khush said, "The PAU has completed first milestone of 50 years. The University is known all over the world and I proudly tell that I am alumnus of PAU. The University has trained numerous scientists who have been instrumental in heralding the green revolution and evolvement of new varieties and technologies. They have contributed abroad through their expertise in agriculture and won various outstanding awards."

Addressing the participants, Dr Dhillon laid special thrust on the value addition and processing of farm produce. He appreciated the presentations of the delegates, and stating that such interactions are useful for the agricultural research and development, he Emphasizing on strengthening the cooperation and coordination between the farm varsities, Dr Dhillon exhorted the scientists to "work hard and think innovatively."

Presenting the recommendations emerging out of the session "Natural Resource Conservation: A Key to Sustainable Agriculture;" Dr J.S. Dhiman, Additional Director of Research (Natural Resource and Plant Health Management), said that it was stressed that urgent remedial measures in the form of technology and policy decisions are required to deal with soil degradation and erosion. As the water is getting scarce and the demand for water is increasing, a shift from stressed agriculture to specialized agriculture is essential. He told, "In view of the global climate change, transfer of atmospheric carbon into soils and vegetation need to be focused."

Referring to the key highlights of the session "Breeding Crops for Food and Climate Resilience," Dr Kulwinder Gill from Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA; said that the strategies ranging from classical to molecular breeding need to be adopted in order to feed the anticipated 5 billion rice consumers in 2030 and beyond. The experts suggested that ideotype breeding besides genomic and physiological approaches can provide answer for enhancing rice productivity, said he. The need for targeted and precision breeding aimed at developing designer varieties was highlighted. He added that the experts also advised that innovative marker assisted backcross programme can be an effective approach for crop improvement.

Dr S.S. Chahal, former Vice-Chancellor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, presenting the recommendations of the session "Crop Protection," said that the experts underlined the need for development of a sustainable pest management system giving due recognition to various ecological interactions. "Proper management of pests and diseases is required for the production of high quality and nutritious food to feed the growing world population," he told. The experts also stressed the need to lay focus on detection of plant pathogens and their biology, population dynamics of pathogens, soil bacteria and efficient strains of bioagents, he said.

About the recommendations of the session "Food Processing and Nutritonal Security," Dr K.S. Minhas, Head of Food Science and Technology Department, said that controlled atmosphere (CA) storage is a practical option for international trade in mango. The experts noted that the development and availability of functional foods can provide health benefits to the consumers and that nanotechnology and biotechnology could provide several health benefits through food manufacturing sectors. It was also highlighted that processing improves the availability of bioactive compounds and therefore needs to be promoted, told he.

Dr SNS Randhawa, Director of Research, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), highlighted the recommendations of the session "Advances in Veterinary and Animal Sciences for Sustainable Livestock Development." He said that the experts impressed that there should be collaboration between crop scientists and animal scientists to assess the quality of different fodder in term of methane production. It was also observed that appropriate sustainable livestock management practices are required to be introduced for the benefit of livestock keepers in changing socio-economic conditions and increasingly variable climates.

Highlighting the recommendations of the session "Joining Hands for Economic Development" Dr R.S. Sidhu, Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, PAU, said that the issues of food security should be addressed through partnership involving graduate training, collaborative research exchanges, technology sharing and building strong research-stake holder linkages. The experts noted that the research system collaboration at various levels is important for improving the production surface frontier and that there should be reform in the subsidies for the agriculture sector. This session was chaired by Dr David Hansen from The Ohio State University (OSU), USA. Dr M. Erbaugh from OSU, and Dr Ramesh Chand from National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi, from were key speakers of the session.
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