Union Minister addresses India-UK meet on “Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress”

What is the news?

The Union Minister for Science & Technology has addressed the joint India-UK meet on “Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress”.

Who organised this India-UK meet on “Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress”?

The meeting is being organised jointly by National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), and University of Birmingham, UK and supported by Newton Bhabha Fund and British Council.

What are the key takeaways from this meeting?

The South Asian region is facing the shrinking Arable land (any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops) besides the problem of global climate change.

According to World Bank data, arable land in South Asia was reported at 43.18% in 2018 which has been stagnant since the early 1970s and recently declining.

To fight against this, the global pattern of food production and distribution may need to shift significantly as climate change progresses.

For this, India-UK can collaborate to develop a coherent and stakeholder-relevant R&D programme.

Moreover, India and the UK can also collaborate on issues of mutual concern, such as achieving the goals of food security and zero hunger.

What is the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI)?

NABI is the first Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, established in 2010. It is an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology.

The institute aims at catalysing the transformation of the Agri-food sector in India.

Located at: Mohali, Punjab 

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Union Minister addresses India-UK meet on “Sustaining Food Production under Environmental Stress”’ published in PIB on 19^th January 2022.