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Sustainable agriculture key to attain food and nutritional security of India: JS, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI
Nov 29, 2024
NEW DELHI, 29 November 2024: Mr Franklin L Khobung, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India today said that if India has to attain food and nutritional security then we have to focus on sustainable agriculture. Highlighting the importance of agriculture in India’s economic development, he said that 18 per cent of the GDP comes from the agriculture sector along with 54 per cent of workforce engaged in agriculture and allied sector. “Agriculture is about the progress of the country. We need to focus on the issues faced in agriculture sector and sustainability holds the key for India to attain the food security.
Addressing the 4th edition of ‘FICCI Sustainable Agriculture Summit & Awards’, Mr Khobung stated that India is playing a lead role at BRICS level and even at the global level, sustainable agriculture and climate action are key. He stated that around 42 per cent of the global population is under BRICS nations and 30 per cent of the agriculture produce of the globe comes from the BRICS nations.
Speaking on the India’s food security, Mr Khobung added that there are still many challenges even if we have achieved the food security level. The government, he said has taken many steps to ensure sustainability in the sector including the setting up of National Action Plan on Climate Change along with the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture. The program focuses on investment, transfer of technology and importance of capacity building of farming communities. “We promote micro irrigation by using same quantity of water, we aim to cover more area under irrigation. Till date we have covered 17 million hectares of the net cultivated area which is around 140 million hectares in the country,” he added.
Mr Khobung stated that the National Mission on Natural Farming recently got approved by the Cabinet and natural farming will be promoted across the country. “We have to boost investment in the agriculture sector including the value chain development, storage facilities, logistics, processing units, etc. We need investments to have more infrastructure so that food waste is minimized,” he noted.
Ms Anuja Kadian, India Chair, BRICS WBA Working Group on Food Security and Environment Safety; Chair, FICCI Taskforce on Sustainable Agriculture & Government & Industry Affairs Director (Asia Pacific), Corteva Agriscience said that BRICS countries can play a significant role in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Leveraging impactful partnerships among BRICS nations to propel sustainable agriculture practices is critical. She also highlighted important role of women in developing smart and sustainable agri food value chain in BRICS nations.
Mr Gugulethu G. Xaba, Head of Food Security in BRICS WBA, President of the newly formed Rural Chamber of Commerce and Industry in South Africa Director of BRICS+ Agriculture Investment & Trade Summit 2025; Ms Mansi Chaturvedi, Head- Private Partnerships, UN World Food; Dr Hema Yadav, Director, Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM); Dr Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) also shared their perspective during the session on Impactful Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture Development and Climate Resilient Agriculture.
Later the second plenary session on ‘Develop a conducive ecosystem for sustainable agriculture development’ was chaired and moderated by Mr Sunjay Vuppuluri, National Head - Food & AgribusinessStrategic Advisory & Research (FASAR), YES BANK. The session was joined by Mr Ashwin Selvaraj, Deputy Director Market Transformation (India & China), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO); Dr Ajeet Singh Nain, Professor & Director Research, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar; Ms. Vaishali Chopra, Head- Public Affairs & Communications, YARA India; Mrs. Divya Rani Singh, Former Block President, Pawai (Panna), Madhya Pradesh.