NEW DELHI :
Working to provide solutions for global food security
PRIME Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday said India has
become a food surplus country and is also working to provide solutions for global food
and nutritional security.
The Prime Minister said,
agriculture is at the centre of
India’s economic policies, and
the Union Budget 2024-25 has
given a big push to sustainable
and climate-resilient farming
and developing a complete
ecosystem to support Indian
farmers.
He was addressing the 32nd
International Conference of
Agricultural Economists
(ICAE), which is being organised in India after 65 years.
Recalling the last
International Conference of
Agricultural Economists, Modi
mentioned that India was then
a newly Independent nation,
and it was a challenging time
for the country’s agriculture
and food security.
“Now, India is a food surplus
country,” he said, adding that
the country is the number one
producer of milk, pulses and
spices in the world.
Also, the country has become
the second-largest producer of
foodgrains, fruits, vegetables,
cotton, sugar and tea.
“There was a time when
India’s food security was a concern for the world. Now, India
is working to provide solutions
for global food security and
global nutritional security,” he
said at the conference, attended by about 1,000 delegates
from around 70 countries.
Therefore, Modi said, India’s
experience is valuable for discussions on food system transformation and will benefit the
global south.
The Prime Minister reiterated India’s commitment to global welfare as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’.
He highlighted various mantras
put forward by India on various fora, including ‘One Earth,
One Family and One Future’,
‘Mission LiFE’ and ‘One Earth
One Health’.
He underlined India’s
approach of not viewing the
health of humans, plants and
animals in silos.
“Challenges before sustainable agriculture and food systems can only be tackled under
the holistic approach of One
Earth, One Family and One
Future,” he said.
Modi emphasised the importance of the agriculture sector
in the Indian economy and highlightedtheworkdoneby
hisgovernmentinthelast10
years for the growth of the
farm sector in a sustainable
manner.“Agricultureisatthe
centre of India’s economic
policies,” he said.
In Indian agriculture, 90
percentoffarmersown very
little land, and these small
farmers are the biggest
strengthofIndia’sfoodsecurity, Modi said.
Hepointedout that asimilar situation is prevalent in
severaldevelopingcountries
inAsia,makingIndia’smodel applicable.
The Prime Minister also
saidIndiahasprovided1,900
new climate-resilient varieties of crops in the last 10
years.
India is promoting chemical-freenaturalfarming,he
added.
He also said the country
ismoving towardsachieving
the 20 per cent ethanol
blending target in petrol.
The conference will highlight India’s proactive
approach to global agricultural challenges and showcase the nation’s advancements in agricultural
research and policy.
The Prime Minister also
acknowledged the seriousness of the nutrition challenge, along with water
scarcityandclimatechange.
He presented Shri Anna,
Millet, as a solution given
the superfood’s quality of
minimum water and maximum production.
Modi expressed India’s
willingness to share India’s
milletbasketwith theworld.
In his speech, he also
talked about how India is
leveraging digital technology in the agriculture sector.
HealsomentionedthePM
KisanSammanNidhi,where
money is transferred to the
bank accounts of 10 crore
farmers with a single click,
and a digital public infrastructurefordigitalcropsurvey that provides real-time
information to farmers and
enables them to make datadriven decisions.
Heemphasisedthatcrores
of farmers will benefit from
the initiative and improve
their economic condition.
Modi also spoke about a
huge campaign forthe digitisationofland,where farmers will be given a digital
identification number for
their land and the promotion of drones in farming,
where ‘drone didis’ are
trained to operate them.