Udaipur. A one-day seminar on the future and landscape of agriculture after Kovid-19 was organized at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, on the webinar. The workshop was organized by the Directorate of Research, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology. Scientists from all over the world were invited to the seminar to discuss the agricultural landscape after Covid-19. In this, about 1000 scientists, students and officials of various universities, national agricultural institutes, agriculture departments have participated along with eminent subject experts
The seminar was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor Dr. Narendra Singh Rathore, in his presidential address, said that the impact of COVID-19 had been seen on a full scale in the agricultural industry and service sectors of the country. About 52% of the population in the country is dependent on agriculture, and 70% of the population lives in the village, for this, the production of functional quality foods, farm mechanization, use of intelligent intelligence in agriculture and smart to increase production and employment opportunities in the agriculture sector. In the COVID-19 pandemic, new opportunities to reach new dimensions to farmers have presented a new challenge to the country. Agricultural scientists should work on the development of village-based models in organic agriculture, integrated farming practices, market linkage, food processing, and farming industries. Today, we have the challenge to achieve the target of producing 345 million tones of food in 2030 and given COVID-19, the emphasis has been laid on the health and nutrition of farmers.
Dr. N. Ravi Shankar, Project Coordinator, Indian Institute of Agricultural Systems Research, Modi Puram, stated in his address that more than 45 integrated farming models had been developed to increase the income of the nation's farmers. With growing revenue, employment of 150 to 397 days can also be obtained through these advanced farming method models. There is a need to adopt diverse farming system models at the village level for quality food and pure environment during the COVID epidemic.
In the seminar, Dr. Shailendra Singh Chauhan, Manager of the Regional Office of NABARD, told that for the availability, timely management of inputs after the Kovid epidemic, financial management and proper technical availability, farmers should benefit from various schemes of the Government of India related to the Producer Group. Small agricultural industries will develop in villages, and the livelihood of farmers will increase. He said that there are 211 farmer producing groups in Rajasthan.
Dr. C.R. Mehta, Director, Central Agricultural and Engineering Institute, said that under the COVID-19, there is a need to use machines and equipment operated remotely in agriculture. There is a need for a custom hiring center to provide devices.
Dr. Abhay Kumar Mehta, Director of Research, said that due to COVID-19, there is a need to research areas like organic food production, soil and water quality, animal health, mechanization, food processing, and jump industrial technologies in agriculture. Knowledge-based on the nature of agriculture needs to be included in more and more agricultural research.
Organizing Secretary Dr. S.K. Sharma, Regional Director of Research, conducted the entire seminar's technical operation, thanked the experts, and thanked everyone
