Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu seeks scientists' help to resolve farmer woes

Venkaiah Naidu advised the agricultural studies students to spend half their time in classrooms and the rest with farmers to gain first-hand practical knowledge.
Venkaiah Naidu felicitate Padma awardee PV Sindhu at Swarna Bharathi Trust in Rangareddy on Saturday
Venkaiah Naidu felicitate Padma awardee PV Sindhu at Swarna Bharathi Trust in Rangareddy on Saturday

HYDERABAD:  Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, while speaking at the second edition of the Agritech South Exhibition and Agrivision conference at Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) on Saturday, urged scientists and researchers to come up with innovations to resolve the challenges faced by Indian farmers.

"The major challenges for food security in the 21st century includes improvement in productivity and yield stability. To achieve this, we need to develop crops that are disease and pest-resistant and are adaptable to climate change. Hence, it is necessary to adopt the latest technology, from the sowing of seeds to post-harvest management and marketing. This will increase our productivity on par with other leading nations and help us enhance farmer income," he said.

Venkaiah Naidu advised the agricultural studies students to spend half their time in classrooms and the rest with farmers to gain first-hand practical knowledge. Venkaiah Naidu urged them to acquaint themselves with the problems of the farmers. "A farmer is the best teacher on agriculture," he said. 

"Technology can also help us counter many of the inherent vagaries in farming and optimise the resources that are deployed. Given the concerns of climate change, land depletion, water shortage and wasteful use of agro-chemicals, making sure that farms remain environmentally relevant and sustainable will require more use of digital devices," he said. 

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