Farmer-scientist meet held on ICAR-NIBSM foundation day

Raipur: ICAR - National Institute of Biotic Stress Management (NIBSM), Raipur Chhattisgarh celebrated its foundation day on Saturday.Dr. R. S. Paroda, former secretary of the department of agricultural research and education (DARE) and director general (DG) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), graced the event as the chief guest, delivering a lecture on ‘scaling innovations critical for agri-food systems transformation in India.’ It highlighted the necessity of scaling up innovations, including hybrid technology, genetically modified crops, conservation agriculture, micro-irrigation, and cutting-edge technologies like genome editing, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence to enhance resilience and sustainability in agriculture, said a press release.In addition, Dr. S. N. Nigam, former principal scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), urged the audience to explore wild relatives of crop plants for resistant genes against biotic stresses, underlining the significance of breeding resistant varieties as a key solution.During the celebration, several significant publications, particularly focusing on good agricultural practices in field crops, were released, and meritorious scientists were awarded for their outstanding contributions.As part of the foundation day celebration, a farmer and scientist interaction meeting was organised, benefiting over 100 farmers who had the opportunity to engage with experts. Prof. Wolf B Frommer, an Alexander von Humboldt professor from Heinrich Heine University, Germany, presented a virtual talk on ‘advances in helping rice protect against successful pathogen infection using genetics’. This session was well-coordinated by Dr. K.K. Mondal, joint director (research) at ICAR-NIBSM.The program was co-ordinated by Dr S.K. Ambast and Dr. Anil Dixit, joint director (school of crop health management research), added to the release.

2 IRRI scientists conferred with CWSS gold for crop science work

Dr Sudhanshu Singh and Dr Virender Kumar were awarded the CWSS gold medals at the sixth international conference on Agricultural innovations for sustainable development goals. Dr Singh emphasized the need for a paradigm shift in agriculture and food systems to combat climate change, while Dr Kumar discussed sustainable rice production. In other news, NIFT Gandhinagar highlighted Mahatma Gandhi's role in sustainable clothing through khadi, and the UN promoted green investment in the tourism industry. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait mourned the passing of agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

Banana farmers want crop insurance

Banana farmers in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, are requesting the state government to restart the crop insurance scheme for horticulture crops after heavy rain in September caused significant damage to their banana crop. The farmers have suffered losses of over 30% and are urging the government to reinstate the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. They are also demanding expedited compensation and the establishment of an advanced laboratory for seed quality checks. Meanwhile, farmers in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, are requesting water release from canals to save their horticulture crops, and the Maharashtra government is offering upfront compensation to farmers under the crop insurance scheme.

ADC stresses on accurate crop survey

Officials in Mysuru, India, have been directed to conduct accurate crop surveys to ensure that farmers affected by natural disasters receive the necessary government benefits. The additional deputy commissioner emphasized the importance of inter-departmental coordination and covering all fields during the survey. In other news, banana farmers in Madhya Pradesh are seeking the restart of a crop insurance scheme after heavy rains caused damage to their crops, while rain in Jharkhand has resulted in damage to houses and crops. Tamil Nadu politicians are demanding higher compensation for crop loss, and Karnataka is focusing on increasing its forest cover.

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