ASSOCHAM to Hold National Conference on Enhancing Agricultural Productivity on October 12

To create awareness for improved farm inputs, ASSOCHAM is organizing a National Conference on Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: Integration of Improved Seeds and Agri Inputs at 10:00 AM on October 12, 2022, at The Park Hotel, New Delhi where Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar will be the chief guest.

Agricultural productivity is synonymous with a system where the different aspects are being addressed such as; fertility of the land, optimum production of a commodity, ecological sustenance, and the improvement of the Farmers’ livings. India is now a growing country both in terms of population and economy and such transformation needs new planning and execution of integration of improved Agri inputs for achieving higher crop productivity.

Farming cannot be initiated without a planting material; thus, the seed is a fundamental input.  Seed plays a crucial role in agricultural expansion as it is a carrier of genetic information which controls the maximum crop productivity, disease resistance, and tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought.

Integrating these inputs is one of the most economical and efficient strategies to develop and strengthen profitable agricultural enterprises. Regardless of the availability of several technologies, particularly of improved crop varieties, there has been limited use of improved seeds and fertilizers by most farmers. There is a need to motivate farmers to adopt newer cultivars, to move forward with a notion of getting better yields and their newer seeds are made less resource intensive and climatically superior.

Farming inputs contribute about 40–50% of the total yield increase for most of the crops. Combining the use of advanced science and technology for improved seed cultivars, effective farm management in crop production, and judicious use of fertilizers are essential with a favorable policy environment that is supportive to farmers.

The Government of India has taken various initiatives for strengthening the seed production value chain through enhanced availability of quality seeds & planting material of crops to farmers across the country through various programs. However, the awareness campaign for the execution of new agri-inputs is the hour needed to yield more productivity. Through this event, ASSOCHAM plans to achieve that.