CHANDIGARH: The Union government will soon launch a seed traceability system to ensure the availability of good quality seeds to farmers. India has also developed some climate resilient varieties especially of wheat, which was a major area of discussion in the second agricultural working group meeting of G-20 to make agriculture sustainable with a climate smart approach. Digitalization for agricultural transformation and the global promotion of millets were also discussed.
Taking to the media here on Thursday after the inaugural session of the meeting, Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said, "We are developing a seed traceability portal, which will shortly be launched. It will clearly indicate what kind of seed reaches the farmers to ensure that they get the best quality seeds."
"We have about two lakh frontline extension workers reaching out to farmers. We are now working on a digital portal called digital extension platform," he added.
Kumar said, "In this second agricultural deputies meeting of the agricultural working group (AWG), major focus areas are how to make agriculture sustainable and how we are coping with climate change. India has developed some climate resilient varieties especially when it comes to wheat. Despite a heat wave, we could manage production of 1.6 million metric tonnes. The idea is to have interactions with other countries, as Asia is the biggest producer and a major consumer. We have major countries like China, Japan, Korea and Thailand which are regularly contributing in exchanging ideas on what are the strategies we can use to become climate resilient."
"Secondly, we are focusing on millets as this is the International Year of Millets. Millets are a climate smart produce that not only have nutritional value but also make agriculture sustainable. In the budget announcement, the Indian Institute of Millets has been declared as a centre of excellence so now that will be a focal point to collaborate with other international organisations. The focus is to mainstream millets so that the common man starts eating them. We are creating awareness on millets which we call a 'Super Food'. Millet production is 18 metric million tonnes in India, which is a global leader in this," he said.
Kumar said, "The third area is digitalization of agriculture transformation as we are developing the Agristat and other IT related platforms. Climate resilient innovation and technology is the way out. In the third meeting, scientists will be discussing the education and research part of the agenda," he said.
The 19 member countries, 10 invited countries, and 10 international organizations at the meeting will focus on drafting the communiqué and addressing four thematic areas -- food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture with a climate smart approach, inclusive agricultural value chains and food systems and digitalization for agricultural transformation.