SKUAST-Jammu is going to host a three day Indian Ecology International Conference, 2022 (IESIC 2022) on "Sustainable Agricultural Innovations for Resilient Agri-Food Systems"Speaking to media persons at press conference today, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu Prof. J P Sharma said that the Conference will be held from 13 to 15 October, 2022 and the event will be inaugurated by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State Prime Minister's Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space.
He elaborated that the main objective of the three day international conference ‘is climate change and its impacts on agricultural.’“There will be 5 Technical Sessions and 4 Poster Sessions of the mega event. It is expected that 300 delegates from India and abroad will be participating in the event.
An Exhibition will also be held to demonstrate the innovative technologies generated by SKUAST-Jammu and various public and private sector agencies,” he informed.He said food security is a global issue affecting millions of people around the world and its effects have been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As the world population continues to grow, much more effort and innovation will be urgently needed in order to sustainably increase agricultural production, improve the global supply chain, decrease food losses and waste, and ensure that all who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition have access to nutritious food” he added.
He said responding to this challenge requires a holistic view of the agriculture sector to develop sustainable, productive and resilient systems for food production, processing and distribution in order to meet the growing demand for food in India and globally.
He further elaborated that the Sustainable Development Goal to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” recognises the inter linkages among supporting sustainable agriculture, empowering small farmers, promoting gender equality, ending rural poverty, ensuring healthy lifestyles and tackling climate change.
“Land, healthy soils, water and plant genetic resources are key inputs into food production, and their growing scarcity in many parts of the world makes it imperative to use and manage them sustainably.
Boosting yields on existing agricultural lands, including restoration of degraded lands, through sustainable agricultural practices would also relieve pressure to clear forests for agricultural production.He underlined the need for wise management of scarce water through improved irrigation and storage technologies, combined with development of new drought-resistant crop varieties, can contribute to sustaining dry-lands productivity” he said .
The sustainability of global food production will depend on our ability to innovate and become much more climate-resilient, he added.