We cannot think of practicing Agriculture without Water: Parshottam Rupala

Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Parshottam Rupala while addressing the celebrations of “World Water Day - 2021” virtually organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said,  “We cannot think of practicing agriculture without water”.

Rupala underlined many facets of water in human life along with the significance of rivers like Ganga, Yamuna etc., in Indian Culture. The Minister also highlighted the role of women in water management and emphasized on the need to incorporate water as part of school level education.

Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR), Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra emphasized on the importance of Rivers in human civilizations. He urged for water harvesting & storage, selection of right methods for irrigation, opting crops based on water resources availability, etc., for judicious use of water.

In his speech on “Innovations in Water Management for Sustainable, Resilient and Healthier Food System”, Director General, International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, Dr. Mark Smith underlined the importance of water in the food system, water supply to food systems & water risks to food systems. Dr. Smith also stressed on the need for Research for Development in the water system integrating diverse values of water.

Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management) ICAR, Dr. Suresh Kumar Chaudhari spoke about the significance of celebrating World Water Day.

FAO-India Representative, Tomio Shichiri virtually participated in the event. As many as 1,500 delegates from the ICAR, CGIAR Centres, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes, State Agri Universities, Central Agri Universities, KVKs and Farmers from different parts of the country also virtually participated in the event.

*Source - ICAR-Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture, Delhi