NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for developing research and technology in agro-biodiversity to ensure global food and nutrition security.
Inaugurating the first International Agro-biodiversity Congress here in the national capital, Prime Minister Modi said it was high time that the stakeholders in the agriculture sector change the way they look at preserving the agro-biodiversity and its inhabitants. Calling for best practices in agriculture, he stressed the need for upgrading technology that would play an important role in the development of agriculture and ensure that natural resources are preserved for future generations.
He however cautioned that there is a need to monitor the drawbacks of excessive use of technology as well. “We need to be alert and monitor the technological impact in agriculture. In an agricultural ecosystem, fertilizer is a cause for concern. Since the excess usage exterminates not only the organisms which harm agriculture, but those species which play an important role in preserving the ecosystem,” he pointed out.
The PM further added : “Every country needs to learn from other countries. India is the perfect venue for the first-ever International Agro bio-diversity Congress, as it is one of the most diverse countries in the world. It takes up only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, and yet it harbours 7 to 8 percent of all recorded species, including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals”.
The Prime Minister said the International Agro-biodiversity Congress will help and encourage a dialogue among the stakeholders including farmers for better understanding of one’s role in agro-biodiversity management and the conservation of genetic resources. On global warming and pollution, the PM said these issues have adversely affected different variety of plants and wild life which are facing extinction and called for countries to come forward to save it.