The two-day national conference on ‘National priorities in plant health management’, organised at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) here on Thursday called for a “boost” in food production by ensuring better plant health to cope with the requirements of the growing population.
Speaking on the occasion, National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) Director-General V. Usha Rani said the Agriculture Department would soon have a ‘District Pest Management Plan’ to meet the needs of the farming community. She also called upon the scientific fraternity to take their knowledge out of the lab to train farmers. “Unless agriculture is profitable, it can never be sustainable,” she said. Ms. Rani also stressed the need to adopt a farmer-centric approach and need-based research.
Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) Dean T. Ramesh Babu expressed concern that 80 per cent of farm losses were due to pests and diseases and blamed it on poor plant health management. He stressed the need to raise farmers’ standards, terming it a “great challenge of the 21st century”. He also emphasised the need to prepare youth for farming, suggesting that the government, trade and service sectors join hands.
Plant Protection Association of India (PPAI) president K.S. Varaprasad, ANGRAU Director of Research N.V. Naidu and Dean (PG Studies) R. Veeraraghavaiah participated. A book, Plant Health Management for Food Security , was released on the occasion. Dr. Ramesh Babu was awarded the Dr. Dodla Raghava Reddy Memorial Gold Medal for his significant contribution to plant protection.
PPAI general secretary B. Sarath Babu, Special Officer (soil health management) T. Giridhara Krishna, SV Agricultural College Associate Dean N.P. Eswara Reddy and RARS Associate Director of Research T.C.M. Naidu were present.
Take knowledge out of the lab to train farmers, scientific fraternity told
