“At present, we are exploiting our natural resources to an extent that it is beyond repair because we have to feed a population of over 140 crore people,” Dr Puronjan Das, former Deputy Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), said on Wednesday.
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An eminent agricultural scientist has called for alternative agricultural production systems to prevent overexploitation of existing natural resources in the country.
“At present, we are exploiting our natural resources to an extent that it is beyond repair because we have to feed a population of over 140 crore people,” Dr Puronjan Das, former Deputy Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), said on Wednesday.
“To ensure that there is no further damage to our natural resources, we need to identify alternate production systems,” he said while delivering the seventh Dr MS Swaminathan Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), SOA’s faculty of agricultural sciences.
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The alternative production systems should be water-smart in terms of per kilogramme of production, energy-smart in terms of higher energy output per kilogramme of energy input, low GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission by identifying the conventional inputs used in agriculture and by substituting them with alternatives that ensure ensure lower GHG emissions, he said.
The objective should be to ensure a lower carbon sustainable index in view of the fact that the atmosphere was already heavy with increasing levels of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, Dr Das said.
Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, and Prof Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare), attended the lecture. Prof Santosh Kumar Rout, Dean of IAS, introduced the guest speaker while Prof Saroj Kumar Mohanty, Convener of the programme, welcomed the gathering.
Mr Rajib Kumar Behera, the Coordinator of the programme, proposed a vote of thanks, while Prof Prabhat Kumar Sarangi conducted the event.
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