India has said that bio-fortified crop varieties offer quicker solution to improve health and address nutrition issues of women and children and emerging digital technologies should be utilised to usher in ease of farming across the G20 countries and the world.
Inaugurating the 3-day G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) in Varanasi on Monday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, road transport and highways VK Singh said India’s G20 presidency theme ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ signifies collective efforts for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).
He emphasised that the pan-India presence of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes and krishi vigyan kendras (KVKs) with domain expertise for crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries, soil and water expertise/ farm machineries, and farmers outreach is being utilised to provide ICT interface with plants, animals, man and machine, according to an official statement.
The minister urged that the G-20 countries to look into diverse areas of sustainable practices that promote diversification of crop production systems, efficient utilisation of water resources and fertilisers, assimilation of horticulture practices, soil, health management, and post-harvest management of crops, among others.
focus on millets
He also stated that the International Year of the Millets 2023 will help highlight the benefits of millets in the world and India has made it a people’s movement.
About 80 delegates from G20 member states — Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France , Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the USA and European Union — are participating in the meeting.
Representatives from guest countries, viz. Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, the UAE, Vietnam and several international organisations including United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, etc are also invited at the event.