Symposium on smart technologies in agriculture begins at CSIR-IIIM

Srinagar, Feb 27: CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine organised a three-day symposium on the theme “Translating Technology into Practice: The Smart Know-Hows of Soil and Crop Management” at its Branch Lab. here today.

Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director CSIR IIIM Jammu, the chief guest inaugurated the three-day event in the presence of  Prof Raihana Habib Kanth, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST, guest of honour, subject matter specialists and scientists of CSIR-IIIM and SKUAST Kashmir. About 70 participants including research scholars, agricultural engineers, and agricultural and horticultural technocrats are registered in the Symposium.

Speaking at the event, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, while highlighting the contributions of the Institute informed the participants about the activities undertaken at the Institute very right from its inception till date for the translational research and development in multiple areas for the overall societal development and services for the industrial sector has been impactful and has benefited the researchers, farmers, academia and industry at region as well as national level. The significant work being done under CSIR Missions like Aroma Mission and Floriculture Mission has generated tangible outcomes and success stories through farmer empowerment and the development of agritech startup ecosystem in the region, he said.

Guest of Honour at the event, Prof. Raihana H. Kanth in her keynote address on Climate Smart Agriculture appreciated the launch of the CSIR Mission for the development of region-specific smart agrotechnologies and highlighted the challenges posed to the agrarian landscape in the country in the backdrop of the changing climatic and edaphic factors. The mitigation approaches to overcome the disastrous effects of weather vagaries require innovative knowledge tools like weather and disease forecasting systems for decision-making, she informed.

Earlier, Dr Shahid Rasool, Nodal Scientist, CSIR Mission on Region Specific Smart Agriculture informed that in the evolving agricultural landscape, the translation of technology into practice has become essential for optimizing soil health and maximizing crop productivity.