International meet ends at Nauni varsity

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development’s Tribal Development Programme had reduced tribal migration from 64 to 25 per cent, and increased farmer asset ownership, leading to lower costs and higher incomes. This was said by Dr Sohan Premi, Deputy General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, during the concluding day of an international conference on ‘Enabling Sustainable Food Systems through Natural Farming’ (ESFS-NF) at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, yesterday.

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Several sessions on agroecological practices were held during the conference.

The event is being held in collaboration with the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), France, and the state chapter of the Indian Ecological Society.

During the session on ‘Agroecological Initiatives: Global and Indian Perspectives’, Allison Loconto of INRAE, France, talked about social innovation for sustainable food system transformation, stressing the need for stakeholders to focus on incremental changes for effective transformation.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, emphasised the need for alternative farming systems in the state. He talked about the CETARA certification system for natural produce, and advocated for incentives to promote natural farming practices.

In the session on Natural Resources Management and Climate Resilience, Dr Rajesh Rana from ATARI Zone-I spoke about the National Mission on Sustainable Food Systems, which is aimed at promoting nutritional security across India through KVKs.

Dr Ivica Dimkic from the University of Belgrade discussed microbial and organo-mineral solutions in agroecological practices, recommending smart biofertilisers tailored to farmers’ needs.

Dr Dilfuza Jabborova from Uzbekistan shared his views on the combined use of biochar and AMF to enhance drought tolerance in crops like soybean and okra.

Dr Baljeet Singh Saharan, HAU, Hisar, emphasised how natural farming could improve soil health and resilience through microorganisms. Kuldeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of HIL, outlined the FARM Project’s role in reducing High-Hazard Pesticides (HHPs) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), aiming to cover 1 million hectares with natural farming.