By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: ANANYA, a state level NGO in collaboration with OUAT conducted a National Seminar on ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar.
The seminar was held at Dr M S Swaminathan Hall in OUAT. The Vice Chancellor of OUAT Prof Pravat Kumar Roul graced the event as the Chief Guest in the Inaugural Session and discussed on various topics related to the topic of the seminar. He said that the farmers and the climate are in a mutually symbiotic relationship which has been the continued source of livelihood for farmers all over India. Climate change has drastically affected the farmers and their livelihood over the years.
The Vice Chancellor stressed upon the importance of Integrated Farming System for increased productivity which would be very beneficial to farmers. Prof. Roul also advised upon increasing awareness among people about the importance of Climate Smart Agriculture and how we can defend ourselves against climate change in the coming future.
The Executive-cum-Organising Secretary of ANANYA, Mr. Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi also participated in the event as an esteemed guest. He said that in today’s context Climate Smart Agriculture can be very beneficial for Food Security & Food Safety. He also quoted the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying ‘Global Warming to Global Warning’ which was mentioned in the G20 meet. He indicated that the effort to create awareness among students and farmers about current issues related to Climate Change will continue in the future in collaboration with OUAT.
The Chief General Manager of NABARD, Bhubaneswar Regional Office Mr. Sudhanshu K.K. Mishra also attended the event as Guest of Honour. He stressed upon cattle rearing, afforestation and cultivation of other than rice varieties in tribal populated regions of Odisha. He said that farmers might get more productivity from fruit cultivation, vegetable cultivation and apiculture.
The other Guest of Honor included Prof. R.K. Panda, the Director of Centrefor Climate Smart Agriculture of Sikhya ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He said that the harm caused to the farming community due to climate change has been immense and Integrated Farming can be a way forward for reducing the amount of loss incurred by the farmers every year.
The General Manager of APEDA, Mr. V.K. Vidyarthi also attended the event as the Guest of Honor. He said that to tackle the problem of Climate Change, both the farmers and agriculture scientists need to be on the forefront to fight the issue head-on. Indian farmers have been leading from the front in providing food all over the world.
In this event the Souvenir of ANANYA and a booklet written by Dr. Damodar Parida, Editor of ANANYA and Swami Chetanananda Saraswati were released. 6 progressive farmers were felicitated by the Honorable Vice Chanceller. Mr. Amareswar Mishra, Adviser of ANANYA gave the Vote of Thanks and Prof. Pravat Kumar Sarangi was the moderator of the whole event. The Chief Executive of ANANYA Mr. Abinash Mohanty, Coordinating Officer of ANANYA Mr. Abhijeet Bhattacharjee, Prof. Mahamaya Prasad Nayak and Prof. Sushant Swain were in charge of coordinating the whole event. The event was attended by more than hundreds of farmers and students alike.
