Scientific Community Needs To Find Long Term Solutions To Problems Faced By Farmers

The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the scientific community to find long-term solutions to the problems faced by farmers and improve crop productivity and farmers' income. He also wanted scientists to explore ways to make crops climate-resilient, nutrition-efficient and less water consuming. Delivering the Valedictory Speech at the 107th Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru, the Vice President said that global warming and climate change were affecting the weather patterns in an unpredictable manner and causing massive devastation at times. He sought to know from the scientists whether the problems faced by farmers due to nature's fury could be mitigated.

Naidu emphasized upon the critical role of technology in enhancing both the quality and quantity across the agriculture value chain from the use of inputs at the pre-production stage to post-production and marketing to improve the income of farmers. The Vice President, while noting how technology was making our lives more comfortable, said that at the same time new challenges were arising. He said science must find solutions to problems like increasing urbanization, pollution, urban-rural divide, growing antibacterial resistance, genetic & non-communicable diseases and water scarcity, among others.