The “Annual group meeting of AICRP on Agroforestry” & Symposium on “Quality Planting Material Production” were jointly organized by Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural university (PJTSAU), Hyderabad and ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute (CAFRI), Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh from 16-18 October 2023 at University auditorium, PJTSAU, Hyderabad. On 16-10-23, Dr. P. Raghu Rami Reddy welcomed all the dignitaries on to the dias. In his inaugural speech, the chief guest Dr. S.K. Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (NRM), ICAR, New Delhi, stressed on the crucial role of agroforestry in eco-system restoration, improvement, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), mitigating climate change and achieving zero emission goals. He further emphasized on the importance of industrial agroforestry and also planting trees in dry lands and coastal areas for ecosystem preservation. Dr. A. Arunachalam, Director, CAFRI has presented significant achievements and role of agroforestry. Dr. V.K. Singh, Director, CRIDA, Hyderabad spoke on the importance of dryland agroforestry duly including livestock and boundary fodder tree species for achieving climate resilience. Dr. M. Venkata Ramana, Registrar, PJTSAU, enlightened all the delegates about the importance of agroforestry as one of the best pro environmental pathways in reducing green house gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration. He further suggested inclusion of small ruminants in agroforestry systems for higher profitability. Many of the agroforestry related publications developed by various AICRP centers were released and hands of dignitaries. Dr. Ch. Sreenivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad lectured on Leadership development for Agroforestry researchers. On 17-10-23, Dr. Rajbir Singh, ADG (Agronomy, Agroforestry & Climate Change), ICAR, New Delhi, emphasized on the role of agroforestry in mitigating climate change and natural calamities. He also stressed on the need for transferring the profitable agroforestry models to the farmers. Dr. B.P. Bhatt, ICAR, New Delhi, suggested to concentrate on production of quality planting material to supply quality seedlings for agroforestry farmers. Dr. A.K. Handa, nodal officer delivered a lecture with a main emphasis on “Quality Planting Material Production” where in the frame work for nursery accreditation and certification of quality planting material was discussed. On the side lines, Dr. K.P. Mohapatra, NBPGR, New Delhi, also reiterated the significance of tree improvement works for quality plant material production. Dr. C. Biradar, Country Director, Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry, India gave a plenary talk, wherein he highlighted significance and contribution of agroforestry to achieve sustainable goals through agroforestry. He also commended that AICRP on Agroforestry has contributed significantly not only at country level, but also at Asia-Pacific level. Dr. P. Raghu Rami Reddy has highlighted the initiatives of Telangana government under “Haritha Haram” and ‘Agroforestry’. He further stated that Hyderabad has been chosen as the best green city among metros in the world. He also emphasized on mapping of agroforestry area through RS and GIS tools in Telangana state by PJTSAU. Sri E. Venkat Reddy, Director, IFB, Hyderabad in his talk stressed on the role of agroforestry in overcoming climatic extremities. On 18-10-23, all the VIPs and delegates have visited Agroforestry research experiments, wood and bamboo models displayed in Agroforestry research scheme and Agrobiodiversity park in PJTSAU. In these 3 days meeting, scientists have deliberated to formulate plans to develop sustainable and profitable agroforestry models. All the university officers, Board Members, PJTSAU and Heads of all research schemes, 70 scientists from 20 states working in various AICRP on Agroforestry centers located in different ICAR institutions and SAUs in India, have participated.
Read more: https://pjtsau.edu.in/annual-group-meeting-aicrp-pjtsau-18-10-2023.html
