National symposium on crop improvement begins at PAU

Ludhiana, November 7, 2014: A three-day national symposium on “Crop Improvement for Inclusive Sustainable Development” began at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today. The symposium has been jointly organised by the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding (ISGPB), New Delhi; Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources (ISPGR); New Delhi; Maize Technologists Association of India, New Delhi; Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Crop Improvement Society of India (CISI), Ludhiana and PAU. Delegates from various parts of the country are participating in the symposium.

In his inaugural remarks, the Finance Minister of Punjab, Parminder Singh Dhindsa who was the chief guest, said that Punjab has seen remarkable agricultural growth in the past 50 years. The policies of the state government, new technologies and varieties developed by PAU, and the technical improvements made by farm experts have led to increase in food production, he highlighted. The state farmers have been pro-active in making breakthroughs, and adopting new varieties and technologies, he added. “But at present, agriculture is one sector which is under tremendous pressure inspite of its golden era,” he pointed out.

Further, Dhindsa observed, “The output has stagnated because of environmental pressures and there is an economic stress also. The water and land resources are declining.”

Dhindsa emphasised on addressing the farm issues of small and marginal farmers, decreasing post-harvest losses, increasing shelf-life of food products, and combating climate change issues. “For promoting crop diversification, there is a need to provide farmers with assured marketing facility for their better livelihood,” he stressed.

The Guest of Honour, Dr Paramjit Singh Ahuja, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said that in view of swift climate changes, there is a need to focus and re-establish the credibility of productive agriculture. He observed, “In the past, agriculture was a way of life. But in the present context, agriculture is an enterprise and a way for survival.” He also stressed on looking at nutritional dimension while developing crop varieties.

In his presidential remarks, Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU said that Punjab agriculture had glorious past but intensive rice-wheat cropping system has resulted in many issues and challenges. “There is a need to enhance productivity by making optimal use of applied resources, and by conserving soil and water,” he emphasized. Besides, increase in farmer’s income, development of new agri-technologies and their quick dissemination, and climate resilient agriculture are the other key areas of concern, he added. “Use Punjab and Haryana as national laboratories to develop strategies for farm sustainability,” urged Dr Dhillon.

The Director of Research, PAU, Dr Balwinder Singh said that although rice-wheat cropping pattern has contributed enormously towards food security, yet it has affected natural resources badly. He underlined the need to develop new varieties with good nutritional quality, and tolerant to biotic and abitoic stresses. He also stressed on harnessing the power of biotechnology.

Dr R.K. Tyagi, Vice-President, ISPGR said that organisation of a symposium on crop improvement is a good initiative. It aims at bringing all the organizations together under one roof for developing strategies for profitable and sustainable farming, he added.

Dr R.K. Gumber, Additional Director of Research (Crop Improvement) and President of CISI, highlighted four thematic areas, which include developing varieties having climate resilience and higher productivity; integration of biotechnology with conventional crop improvement; breeding for nutritional and industrial quality traits; and conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources.

Earlier, Dr H.S. Dhaliwal, Dean, College of Agriculture, welcomed the dignitaries and the delegates. He said that Punjab is a largest surplus state in India in terms of food grain production. But in view of farm problems being faced in contemporary agriculture, crop improvement approaches need to re-structured, he added.

Dr G.P. Singh, Secretary, ISGPB proposed the vote of thanks.

On the occasion, Dr G.S. Nanda, Member, Board of Management, PAU and former Director of Research, PAU was honoured for his contributions to farm research. The dignitaries also released a set of two publications.

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