ICAR chalks out plan to meet food demand by 2050: DG

Parveen Arora

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Tribune News Service

Karnal, February 19

In view of fulfilling the needs of around 1.65 billion, the estimated population of India by 2050, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has formulated a master plan focusing on accomplishing the food demand and meeting the challenge of changing environment in the years ahead.

S Ayyappan, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), said this while addressing scientists and farmers during the second day of the 44th dairy industry conference on “Dairying in India by 2030: Make in India” at the NDRI here today.

He presented the ICAR Vision 2050 and said the ICAR had completed an exercise where all constituent research institutes had given their feedback to formulate vision documents, which provided the strategic framework for innovation-led inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in the country.

“The production system will be more commercial oriented by 2050, so the research and development agenda has to be re-oriented to develop and promote technologies to raise agricultural income and generate jobs in the agriculture supply chain,” said Ayyappan, who is also the Director General, ICAR.

He said food wastage was a worry. “Perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and milk have a wastage of 15 per cent to 25 per cent, while non-perishable commodities witness wastage between 5 per cent and 15 per cent. This puts considerable pressure on natural resources.”

Ayyappan was delivering Verghese Kurien Memorial Oration 2016. “During 1950s and 60s, India was at the verge of stagnation in milk production and feared decline in it. Now, it has achieved the highest growth rate in milk production; India has been the largest milk producer over the past years.”