The fifth International Agronomy Congress (IAC), jointly organised by the Indian Society of Agronomy, New Delhi, and Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), will be inaugurated on Tuesday.
The five-day Congress, ‘Agri-Innovations to combat food and nutrition challenges’ as the theme, to be held at the State university campus, will chalk out new strategies to meet emerging challenges through agronomic research.
Addressing press persons on Monday, ISA president and PJTSAU Vice-Chancellor V. Praveen Rao said the symposium will deliberate on 13 concerns, with a local to international perspective, to come out with specific policy directions to the Central and the State governments.
Internationally acclaimed practitioners such as Dr. Rattan Lal, the 2020 World Food Prize recipient, Prof. J.J. Volenec of American Society of Agronomy, Prof. P.V. Vara Prasad of Crop Science Society of America and Dr. Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes of ICRISAT, besides experts from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and various national and State institutes, will convene for a dialogue on the state of affairs in innovation and challenges in the sector.
Mr. Rao said sub-themes such as integrated farming, organic agriculture, secondary agriculture and farmers prosperity, and farmer-scientist interface, were considered based on State-specific needs.
And themes such as agronomic education, technologies, innovations, big data for smart agriculture, biotic and abiotic stress management and climate resilience were contemporary concerns across the geographies.
The conference would witness physical participation of about 500 research scholars, scientists, industry experts and policy makers, besides 600 registered virtual participants from across the globe.
Director of CRIDA and Secretary ISA, Vinod Kumar Singh and R. Jagadeeshwar, director of research at PJTSAU, said the Congress will showcase contributory papers and posters, recognition of best work in research, and visits to experimental fields and research institutes in and around Hyderabad.
