Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) in India, highlighting the country’s transformation into a food surplus nation and its commitment to addressing global food and nutritional security. This conference, hosted in India for the first time in 65 years, reflects India’s progress in agriculture and its role in global food systems. Modi emphasized India’s advancements in sustainable agriculture, digital technology in farming, and its rich agricultural heritage.
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- Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared India as a food surplus country and emphasized its role in global food and nutritional security.
- Modi inaugurated the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), which is being held in India after 65 years.
- The last ICAE in India was held during a challenging period for the country’s agriculture, shortly after independence.
- India’s diverse agricultural practices and climatic zones, including 15 agricultural climatic zones and various seasonal planning, contribute to its global food security role.
- India is the largest producer of milk, spices, and lentils, and has shifted from a food security concern to a solution provider for global nutrition issues.
- The Prime Minister highlighted India’s ancient agricultural traditions and scientific approaches, including Ayurvedic food science and the historical text ‘Krishi Parashar.’
- India is developing digital public infrastructure to support real-time crop surveys and data-driven decisions for farmers through the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi program.
- India aims to address global nutrition concerns with its production of millets, promoted as superfoods, and is willing to share these with the world.
- Modi remembered Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for his contributions to agriculture and noted the Statue of Unity as a symbol of his legacy, built with iron from farmers’ tools.
- The ICAE 2024 conference, themed “Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems,” will focus on sustainable agriculture amid challenges like climate change and resource degradation, and will host around 1,000 delegates from 75 countries.
