‘Focus on sustainable agriculture\, reduction in water use’

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‘Focus on sustainable agriculture, reduction in water use’

Ashok Dalwai (right), CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority, releasing a special postal cover to mark the Foundation Day of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in the city on Monday. (From left) Sheuli Burman, Post Master General, Western Region, Coimbatore, and N. Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, are in the picture.

Ashok Dalwai (right), CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority, releasing a special postal cover to mark the Foundation Day of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in the city on Monday. (From left) Sheuli Burman, Post Master General, Western Region, Coimbatore, and N. Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, are in the picture.   | Photo Credit: M_PERIASAMY

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Need to increase focus on horticulture crops was also stressed

The challenge before students of and experts in agriculture is to introduce a sustainable approach and their research should be focussed towards reduction in water use, Chief Executive Officer, National Rainfed Area Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ashok Dalwai said here on Monday.

“A World Bank study of 2010 says the [agriculture] income India generates from a litre of water is US Dollar 0.5. It is US Dollar 1.60 for China and US Dollar 3.9 for Israel. This means that there is a possibility for maximising the use of water,” he said while delivering the 49th Foundation Day address at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

“Of the 1,800 million cubic metre of water the country gets from rain, only 1,200 million cubic metre is usable. Of it, 85% is used for agriculture. Only the rest is for others – for industries and people. Therefore there is a need for agriculture students and experts to release more water to others.”

In 1962, the per capita GDP of India was two times that of China. That year, the water availability in the country was only 75% that of China. In 2010, the Chinese per capital GDP was 3.7 times that of India, which had only 54% water of what the country had. This meant that China had deployed better technology for use of water and India had not.

Continuing his emphasis on optimum use of water, Mr. Dalwai said, “If Israel could improve water use efficiency, why could not India? But we, as a country, need to ask ourselves the right question and unless we do so there could not be a sustainable approach to agriculture.”

The question should be what should we do to farmers, citizens and the ecology, all of which were stakeholders. And this was important given that climate change was a reality, he said.

There was also a need to increase focus on horticulture crops. Agriculture crops that occupied 42% of the cultivated area brought in only 19% value addition; horticulture crops, on the other hand, occupied 12% of the cultivated area, but paved way for 24% value addition.

Mr. Dalwai then released a special postal cover and permanent pictorial cancellation to mark the occasion.

Earlier, Vice-Chancellor N. Kumar spoke about the University's achievements in the past and what it proposed to do in its Golden Jubilee year. In the past seven months, the University had created a number of career advancement opportunities for teaching and non-teaching staff.

The University had signed three memoranda of understanding with as many foreign universities and a number of other institutions.

Director of Research K.S. Subramanian listed the funding the University’s faculty and research scholars had obtained in the past year and honoured the top performers. Registrar A.S. Krishnamoorthy also spoke.

The University recognised the services of teaching and non-teaching staff and presented certificates to 56 persons who had completed courses under the Open and Distance Learning programme.

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