New Delhi: The 27th Dr B.P. Pal Memorial Lecture was held by the Post Graduate School, Indian Agricultural Research Instiute (ICAR-IARI) and Genetics Club of IARI on 27th May, 2020 in an online mode. The topic of annual lecture this year was “Reforms for Secure and Sustainable Agriculture: A Road Map’ and the speaker was Padma Bhushan Dr R.S. Paroda, Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), New Delhi.
The function was chaired by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary DARE and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Dr. Rashmi Aggarwal, Dean and Joint Director (Education) formally welcomed dignitaries and all participants. Dr A.K. Singh, Director, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute in his welcome address introduced the Chair to the participants present in the webinar.
Dr Mohapatra introduced the speaker and welcomed various dignitaries and the participants present. Dr. Rashmi Aggarwal, Dean and Joint Director (Education), IARI, Dr. J.P. Sharma, Joint Director (Extension) and several other dignitaries have graced the occasion with their presence.
The history of agricultural development in India is intimately connected with the achievements of one of the country's foremost agricultural scientists, Dr B. P. Pal. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) was earlier located in Pusa, Bihar, but after a severe earthquake damaged its main building, the Institute was shifted to New Delhi in 1936. Dr Pal was the first Indian Director of the IARI in New Delhi at its campus, which was named Pusa, in 1950 and continued to serve in that capacity until May 1965, when he became the first Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He held this position from May 1965 to January 1972, during which period the Green Revolution was launched.
In his lecture, Dr R S Paroda first paid tribute to Dr. B.P. Pal by highlighting the pioneer services and role played by Dr. Pal in transforming Indian Agriculture. Dr Paroda also emphasised the role of Indian National Agricultural Research System in strengthening food security in the nation. He stressed on the needs and roles of policy support, institutions, human resources and partnership for success of agriculture.
Dr Paroda advocated for the reforms like Agricultural Diversification, Secondary Agriculture, Speciality Agriculture, production to post-production value chain, focus on small holder farmers, research orientation towards farming system mode, Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) and linking farmers to the market. In addition, he also called for strengthening the role of women and youth in agriculture and emphasis on innovations in agriculture (e.g. conservation agriculture). As a future roadmap for sustainable agriculture, he also urged for revisiting agricultural policies, strengthening the existing institutions and creating institutions for new agricultural challenges.
In his Chairman’s remarks, Dr Mohapatra appreciated Padma Bhushan Dr R.S. Paroda for presenting the Road Map for Secure and Sustainable Agriculture. Dr. Vinod, President Genetics Club proposed the words of thanks. Total 1049 persons viewed the webinar on Zoom. The webinar was also streamed online on You Tube live.