Climate
change has become a major concern for agriculture globally, more so in
developing countries like India, where farming is heavily dependent on monsoon.
Unseasonal rainfall, floods, hail storms, heat wave, cold wave and frost are
some of the manifestations of climate change seriously impacting agriculture,
horticulture and water availability. The incidence of pests and diseases are
also increasing due to climate change. Therefore it is urgently needed to
evolve climate resilient technologies to save the Indian agriculture. To debate
on this important topic an International Seminar of “Global Climate Change:
Implications for Agriculture and Water Sectors” is being organized during
December 14-16, 2017 by all the four state Agricultural Universities of
Maharashtra in collaboration with Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI)
Aurangabad.
Dr.
Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, New Delhi will inaugurate the seminar, Dr.
David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, Hyderabad will be the Guest of
Honour and Padmabhushan Dr. R. S. Paroda, Former Director General, ICAR, New Delhi and
Chairman of the Advisory Committee will preside over the function. Dr.
B.Venkateswarlu, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, VNMKV, Parbhani and Chairman of the
Organizing Committee, Dr. T. Bhattacharya, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, Dr. BSKKV, Dapoli,
Dr. K. P. Viswanatha, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, MPKV, Rahuri, Dr. V. M. Bhale, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, Dr. PDKV, Akola, Er. H. K. Gosavi, Director General, WALMI, Aurangabad and Sh. Raju Barwale,
Chairman, MAHYCO will be other dignitaries to be present at the event.
Dr.
D. P. Waskar, Director of Research, VNMKV, Parbhani is the Convener, Dr. S. D. Gorantiwar
and Dr. A. S. Garudkar are the Co-Conveners and Dr. B. V. Asewar, Chief Scientist
Dry land Research Centre, VNMKV, Parbhaniis Organizing Secretary. The website www.ccaw2017.org
is launched for this event which has been visited by more than 25,000 visitors
till date. The planning of this mega event was initiated more than an year ago.
International experts from USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Egypt, Sri Lanka,
Vietnam, BanglaDesh and Nepal etc. are participating in this seminar to share their
experiences. More than 600 Indian scientists / research scholars / students are
also taking part in this seminar. About 1000 research abstracts are received
which will be displayed through poster presentation.
Twelve
concurrent sessions on various themes like breeding for climate ready crops, Climate
change and water resources, Innovations in efficient water resource management,
Climate change and carbon sequestration, Conservation agriculture, nutrient and
energy management, Climate change and Dryland agriculture, Climate change : Farmer
led innovations, Climate change and horticulture, Climate change and pest & diseases, Climate
change: livestock and fisheries, Upscaling climate resilient technologies,
Agro-meteorology, IT applications and modeling and Climate smart agriculture:policy and financing are planned for thorough discussion.
The
Inaugural function will be held at Rukmini Auditorium, MGM, College Campus,
Aurangabad followed by all technical sessions at WALMI, Aurangabad. An
exhibition depicting the latest innovations covering scientific and industrial equipment, measuring devices and books related to climate change will be organized
at WALMI. MAHYCO, Jalna has joined this
event as a Co-Organizer. The other major sponsorers are Indian Council of
Agriculture Research (ICAR), New Delhi, Jain Irrigation System Limited,
Jalgaon, State Bank of India, Mahabeej, Akola. Science and Engineering Board,
New Delhi, TASS, New Delhi, Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjivani Prakalp (PoCRA), Department
of Agriculture, Govt. of Maharashtra and National Horticulture Mission.
During
this mega event, many researchers /scientists will interact on various issues
of climate change and related policy matters. The outcome of this seminar is
expected to help in planning for development and implementation of climate
resilient technologies in India.