A combination of scientific skill, political will and
farmer’s participation in pulses production can help achieve Zero
Hunger, said agriculture scientist M. S. Swaminathan at the inauguration
of the Consultation on Pulses for addressing Food and Nutrition
Security at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here on
Sunday.
The Zero Hunger challenge was launched by the United Nations in 2012.
Three kinds of hunger
Addressing
the experts during the inauguration of the consultation, he said there
were three kinds of hunger that needed to be dealt with – calorie
inadequacy, protein deficiency and micronutrient deficiency. There is a
need for India to look at enlarging the food basket and include millets
in the public distribution system, Mr. Swaminathan said.
The
three-day consultation brings together farmers and experts and will
discuss ways and means to increase production of pulses. India currently
depends on exports to fill the gap of around seven million tonnes in
pulses annually.
N. Ram, Chairman, Kasturi and Sons
Limited, said the ability of Mr. Swaminathan to understand India’s
agricultural systems while keeping the global picture in mind was
unmatched.
David Bergvinson, Director-General,
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, said
that we have to live within the ecological boundaries of our planet, and
stressed on the importance of a farmer-lead approach for a
malnutrition-free India.
Publications on Family Farming, Pulses, Malnutrition-Free India and MSSRF’s annual report were released on the occasion.
The
publication on pulses captures the situation in India with regard to
pulses production and shares the work done on the field in this context.
Genetic garden soon
A
Genetic Garden for biofortified plants/crops will soon be established
by MSSRF and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. It will contain the
germplasm of naturally biofortified crops as well as through plant
breeding.
The garden, which will come up initially on
one acre of land provided by the University at Thirurkuppam near Avadi,
will also serve as a centre for conservation and education. It will
have plants and crops that help supplement micronutrient deficiencies,
including iron, iodine, vitamin A, folate, zinc and selenium.
The
garden would be a place where the public can visit and learn about the
advantages of the plants in bringing down nutritional deficiencies.
India depends on exports to fill the gap of around seven million tonnes in pulses annually
Source : The Hindu
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