BHUBANESWAR:
“By 2020, India
will require producing over 340 million tonnes in view of population growth and
increased purchasing power,” said former President APJ Abdul Kalam Azad while addressing
the gathering at the 33rd Convocation of the Odisha University of Agriculture
and Technology (OUAT) here on Saturday.
Embarking upon Second Green
Revolution in the country, Kalam said the increase in the production would have
to surmount many impeding factors. The requirement of land for the increasing
population as well as for greater afforestation and environmental preservation
activities would force a situation whereby the present 170 million hectares of
arable land would not be fully available. It might shrink to 100 million
hectares by 2020, he added.
To tackle the situation, our
agricultural scientists and technologies in partnership with multiple
organisations, have to work for enhancing the average productivity more than
three times, under the constraints of reduction of cultivable land, reduction
of water availability and reduction of number of farmers, Kalam said.
Kalam also said that sustainable
development should be established in the rural complexes as about 700 million
people in India
are leaving in villages. He called upon the students to come forward to serve
the nation in the field of agriculture.
In the Convocation, honorary
doctorates were conferred on three agricultural scientists namely Prof EA
Siddiq, Dr SC Mohapatra and Dr A Narain. Besides, 459 graduates, 243 Post
Graduates and 15 PhDs were conferred on the occasion.
Among others, Governor SC Jamir,
Agriculture Minister Devi Prasad Mishra and OUAT vice chancellor Prof
Manoranjan Kar were present.
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