Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the inauguration of the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Inaugurating the triennial conference organised by the International Association of Agricultural Economists here on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s experience is valuable for discussions on transforming the food system and is sure to benefit the Global South. India is hosting the conference for the second time after a gap of 65 years. The Prime Minister said from a newly independent nation facing challenges to ensure food security 65 years ago, India has now become a food surplus country, the largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second largest producer of food grain, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea and farmed fish.
He said during the last time time the conference was held in India, the country’s food security was a matter of concern for the world while today, India is providing solutions to global food and nutrition security. “Therefore, India’s experience is valuable for discussions on food system transformation and is sure to benefit the Global South,” Mr. Modi said.
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Reiterating India’s commitment to global welfare, Mr. Modi said India does not view the health of humans, plants and animals “in silos”. “Challenges before sustainable agriculture and food systems can only be tackled under the holistic approach of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’,” he said.
The Prime Minister said agriculture is at the centre of India’s economic policies and said small farmers are the biggest strength of India’s food security. He claimed that the positive results of promoting chemical-free natural farming on a large scale can be seen in the country. He told agricultural scientists from around the world who are attending the conference that India handed over 1,900 new climate-resilient varieties of seeds to farmers in the last 10 years. He also talked about “a huge campaign” for the digitisation of land where farmers will be given a digital identification number for their land and on the use of drones in farming.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Member of NITI Aayog Ramesh Chand, conference president Matin Qaim and Director-General of Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) Himanshu Pathak were present on the occasion. The theme for this year’s conference is “Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems”. Professor Chand said agriculture has been a key focus area of development strategy in India, and the country has achieved historically the highest growth rate of 5% during the seven-year period from 2016-17 to 2022-23. “Agricultural growth in the last 15 years has saved many countries from economic collapse. Due to the poor effort of industry in pulling the labour force out of agriculture, the onus of remunerative employment for the large workforce still remains on agriculture,” he said.
