Israel, Australia lend support to India's 'Second Green Revolution' quest
Israel, Australia lend support to India's 'Second Green Revolution' quest
Farmer aggregation and improved water irrigation systems can be the foundation for the expansion of Indian agriculture.

New Delhi: India's agricultural sector contributes 16 per cent of total GDP & 10 per cent of export earnings in the economy. Despite being largely self-sufficient in food production, Indian agriculture currently faces a slew of problems its growth is much slower than other sectors of the economy; productivity is in decline and the income gap between farmers and the rest of the workforce is widening.

In addition, India is on its way to become the world's most populous country by 2030. The increased population, and rapid urbanization, is bound to put added pressures on land and water resources. It is imperative to now to work towards a second Green Revolution, as envisioned by successive Indian governments.

In this backdrop, theAnanta Centre, in collaboration with the Tel Aviv University and Pratt Foundation, organised a discussion on "Challenges and Opportunities of Creating a Second Green Revolution in India" in the capital.

The program featured H.E. Shimon Peres, Former President of Israel; Mr. Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Ananta Centre & Chairman of the Board, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd., andMr. Anthony Pratt, Chairman, Pratt Foundation & Chairman, Visy Industries Pty Ltd.Mr. T.N. Ninan,Chairman, Ananta Aspen Centre and Chairman, Business Standard Pvt. Ltd.steered the discussion.

Addressing the gathering, Pereslauded the steps taken by India in the last few decades to strengthen its agriculture sector and enhance food production. "While India needed to rely on foreign aid in the 1960s to avert disaster, India is a net exporter of food, and any threat of malnutrition is a question more of distribution, than of production.

The world can learn a lot from your experience. Your commitment to basic scientific agricultural research, is the only way that India today is more food secure than it was 50 years ago. And amazingly, you have done this while still relying primarily on small-scale farmers," statedPresident Peres."The green revolution has brought new challenges that must be dealt with.

We must maintain the increased yields, but with more environmentally sustainable practices. I'm convinced that the answer lies in science and technology. India and Israel have a common agenda. We both realize the importance of food security for both our national security and regional stability," he added.

Underscoring the potential for expansion in the Indian agriculture landscape, Mr. Godrej asserted, "Agriculture lies at the basis of our economy, providing 52% of the country's total workforce. With the projected levels of population growth, food security remains high on the development agenda.

Farmer aggregation and improved water irrigation systems can be the foundation for the expansion of Indian agriculture. Israel's agro-technologies and Australia's efficient production, processing systems and R&D can also play a vital role in India's Second Green Revolution."

The Green Revolution in India began in the late 1960s with the introduction of high-yield crop varieties and applications of modern agricultural techniques. The success of the initiative was attributed to a mixture of investment in crop research, use of appropriate technology, market development and government provisions. The expansion in food production created self-sufficiency in food grains and significantly cut India's reliance on imports. According to estimates, food-grain production improved from 51 million tonnes (MT) in 1950-1951 to 234 MT in 2008-2009.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ninan formally announced the launch of a new Track II initiative on food and water security. "I am pleased to announce that the Ananta Centre, in collaboration with Tel Aviv University, Israel and Pratt Foundation from Australia, would be launching an India - Australia - Israel Track II Trilateral Dialogue, focusing on Food and Water Security for India. Mr Shimon Peres, MrJamshyd Godrej and Mr Anthony Pratt are the three patrons of this initiative. The Track 2 Trilateral Dialogue will be co-chaired by Dr Ashok Gulati from India, Mr Ross Fitzgerald from Australia and Dr Daniel Chamovitz from Israel," he said.

Highlighting the increasing cooperation between India, Israel and Australia on water and food security, Pratt extended support to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to scale up the agriculture sector."I am honoured and delighted to be the Australian Patron of the Trilateral Track II Food and Water Security Dialogue between India, Israel and Australia.

We are dedicated to serving Prime Minister Modi's vision of creating India's second green revolution across the full agricultural, food processing, distribution supply chain, to improve the livelihoods and productivity of India's smallholder farmers," said Pratt.

To meet the nation's growth targets, Prime Minister Modi's vision for a Second Green Revolution includes focus on increased agro-productivity, value addition and agro-technology; decentralization of warehousing; white revolution to focus on increasing milk productivity and developing a system for ensuring cattle health, and increased focus on water conservation.

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