Experts: Soil-less cultivation of crops future of farming

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 28

Soil-less cultivation of crops and the use of inert matter for production is the future of sustainable agriculture. The aim should be to derive more produce by using lesser natural resources, said Padam Shri awardee Brahma Singh, a renowned vertical horticulture farmer, on the concluding day of the international conference on sustainable water, agro, dairy and food processing policies at Eternal University, Baru Sahib.

Dr Raj Bhandari from New York and Prof Joanna from Australia stressed the use of millets as the key component of daily food consumption, as it helps in balancing the ecological system. Millet production requires only 300 mm of water footprint, as compared to paddy that requires around 2,000 mm.

Another glaring fact shared by Dr Deepti Gulati, Industry Chair Professor of Nutraceuticals and Fortification at NIFTEM, Sonepat, was that malnutrition in Indian children was among the highest in the world. On the other hand, obesity or over nutrition was emerging as a big public health problem these days. She said that 26 per cent of the Indian population was food insecure, consuming less than 80 per cent of the minimum energy requirement.

Dr Davinder Singh, president of the Kalgidhar Trust and Vice-Chancellor of Eternal University, said, “We hope to make some noise on the issues so as to bring some policy changes at the government level. ” —

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