Last Update: February 14, 2023, 14:59 IST
The first agriculture delegation meeting of the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) under India’s G20 chairmanship is being held here from February 13-15 (Representational image/PTI).
Next meetings of G20 AWG likely to be held in Chandigarh, Varanasi and Hyderabad
India on Tuesday called upon the G20 countries to adopt a ‘3S’ strategy for the agriculture ecosystem – Smart, Sustainable and Serve – to address global food security concerns.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia while addressing the media here on the sidelines of the first G20 agriculture representatives meeting said that agriculture is for us. India Has always been a priority and it has now come full circle for the world to see.
“Our thinking is that we have to adopt 3S strategy for agriculture ecosystem to make a mark on the world food system,” Scindia said.
He said the 3S strategy is ‘smart’ and ‘sustainable’ agriculture that should ‘serve’ everyone. For smart agriculture, Scindia stressed on adopting drones and other new technologies to increase crop yields.
For sustainable agriculture, farmers should focus on achieving higher yields, using better inputs, besides focusing on advanced technologies and marketing.
Stating that India has made significant progress in agriculture, the minister said it is the world’s top country in milk production, second in vegetables and fruits and third in food grain production.
India’s food grain production has increased from 265 million tonnes to 315 million tonnes in the last eight years. He said that the budgetary outlay for the agriculture sector has been increased four and a half times to USD 10.5 billion (about Rs 86,700 crore) in the last eight years.
Civil Aviation and Steel Minister Scindia also mentioned that his home state Madhya Pradesh has also made significant progress in the agriculture sector and is a major producer of soy and garlic.
The state’s food grain production has increased almost four times from 165 lakh tonnes to 629 lakh tonnes in the last 18 years. He said that there has been 50 percent improvement in irrigation in the state.
“Based on the outcome of the discussion, India and the G-20 countries will provide a new road map for agriculture to the world,” he said.
The first agriculture delegation meeting of the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) under India’s G20 chairmanship is being held here from February 13-15.
The deliberations will continue on the second day of the meeting on four key priority areas: food security and nutrition; sustainable agriculture with a climate smart approach; inclusive agricultural value chains and food supply systems; and digitization of agricultural transformation.
On the final day of the event, February 15, delegates will discuss key deliverables of AWG. It will be a technical session with discussion and participation from all concerned members and international organizations.
The next meetings of the G20 AWG are likely to be held in Chandigarh, Varanasi and Hyderabad.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)