The former Vice-Chancellor of UAS Dharwad M. Mahadevappa on Friday said that had governments concerned heeded suggestions made by agricultural scientists a few years ago on scientific water management, the present inter-State water dispute would not have occurred.
Inaugurating a national conference on crop improvement and adaptive strategies to meet challenges of climate change organised by University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, here, Prof. Mahadevappa said the agriculture scientist community had suggested several measures and alternative mechanism to conserve water. However, these suggestions were not considered by the governments leading to the present-day inter-State river water dispute.
Speaking about lack of sufficient knowledge among farmers, Prof. Mahadevappa said the scientist community too was to be blamed for information not reaching farmers. They mainly focussed on research and teaching instead of disseminating knowledge, he said. Scientists were not making efforts to address the climate change issue, he regretted.
Though India had a robust agriculture economy, the country was unable to provide food security because of the increasing population and the stagnant land holdings. Scientists had the potential to address this issue, he said.
Vice-Chancellor of UAS Bangalore K. Narayana Gowda said thousands could get sufficient food if wastage of food was checked. In Bangalore alone, about 940 tonnes of food goes waste through around 538 marriage halls every year, he pointed out.
The three-day conference is being attended by over 150 delegates from across the country.
