New Delhi, India
March 11, 2008
by T. V. Padma,
SciDev.Net
There are huge gaps in yield between experimental and farmers'
fields
Eight South Asian countries have launched a regional food
security programme, pooling together scientific and natural
resources to improve crop production and nutrition in the
region.
The 'South Asia Food Security Programme' will receive an
estimated US$25 million for ten projects addressing South Asia's
food security.
The announcement was made by Ram Badan Singh — secretary general
of the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperatives Limited — at a
meeting of South Asian agriculture ministers, crop scientists
and farmers' cooperatives in Delhi, India, last week (5 March).
The donors include the Asian Development Bank, the International
Fund for Agricultural Development and the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The programme was approved at a meeting organised by the FAO and
the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in
Colombo, Sri Lanka, last month (27–29 February) and will begin
in 2009.
Key regional issues discussed at the Colombo meeting included
low crop yields, high pre-harvest losses due to sudden rains or
winds and post-harvest losses due to poor storage conditions.
Degradation of land resources, the absence of biosecurity
measures to prevent disease outbreaks in plants and animals, and
inadequately trained staff were also discussed.
At the Delhi meeting, the eight South Asian countries —
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka — emphasised the key role of science in
transforming the region's agriculture and fighting poverty and
hunger.
Regional cooperation in research to develop interventions at all
stages of the agricultural chain should be top of the agenda,
said India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. "There is
potential to turn agriculture in the SAARC region into a dynamic
sector with rapid technological innovation accelerating growth
and reducing poverty."
A serious concern, crop scientists said, is the huge gaps in
yield between crops grown in experimental fields and in farmers'
fields, suggesting that potential yields are not realised due to
inadequate crop management practices.
The projected impact of climate change on South Asia's crop
production is also causing concern. Delayed rains, unexpected
temperature surges and frost due to climate change are changing
when crops can be harvested.
South Asian countries should work together on science and
technology interventions, ranging from nanotechnology to
genetic markers for selecting crops with useful traits,
scientists said at the meeting. |
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