ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stress Management, Raipur, Chhattisgarh in collaboration with ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Maharashtra & Amity University Chhatisgarh, Raipur organised a National Conference on Novel Strategies for Mitigating Biotic and Abiotic Stresses for Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability on 28th-29th February 2024.
The Chief Guest Dr. S. Ayyappan, Padma Shri awardee and Former Secretary, the Department of Agricultural Research & Education and Director General, ICAR, underscored the institute’s significant role in advancing One Health, food security with a focus on plant health.
Dr. P.K. Ghosh, Director, ICAR-NIBSM, Raipur highlighted the importance of understanding the biotic and abiotic stresses to increase farmers’ income and reduce the risk in line with the national objective of doubling the farmers’ incomes.
Dr. K. Sammi Reddy, Director, ICAR-NIASM, spoke about the development of an abiotic stress information system and facilitated NIASM-KVK interaction for neglected areas in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Prof. Piyush K Pandey, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur, outlined the university’s global presence with a student enrollment of 200,000 students and its local presence in Chhattisgarh with 3,000 students across ten schools.
Dr. S N Puri, former Vice-Chancellor of CAU, Manipur, emphasised the origins of the institute and NIASM as deemed universities of national importance, aiming to strengthen graduate and postgraduate student capabilities.
The Special Session on Academia-Industry Interaction allowed industry partners to showcase products and exchange perspectives. A Panel Discussion on novel strategies for mitigating biotic and abiotic stresses featured distinguished speakers. The discussions highlighted the importance of promoting bio-pesticides and stimulants for pest and disease control, the need for an integrated approach to manage abiotic and biotic stresses, the need for multiple stress-tolerant varieties, the need to address climate change, capacity building, and policy issues, and the use of AI and machine learning tools in biotic stress management.
More than 250 distinguished scientists, industry partners, and students attended the conference.
(Source: ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stress Management, Raipur, Chhattisgarh)
