PRESENTED BY:

Soumya Basu

Sucheta Vardhan

Drakshya Routray

Ekaparna Mal

Nikhil Pranav

(Students from KIIT University)

Agriculture in Shambles Although India has a wide physiographical diversity, the agro produce is negligible

to its variety….WHY???????????

MAJOR PROBLEM:

Low Agricultural productivity per unit of land coupled with improper storage.

CAUSES:

•Inadequate irrigation facilities-unscientific canal

diversions from rivers, unable to tap monsoon rains.

•Depleted Soils-Due to deforestation and use of pesticides

•Improper storage leading to wastage of crops

•Land fragmented due ancestral reasons.

Why is this a MAJOR problem?

Agro produce provides for 21% GDP.

60% of the population still depends on agriculture.

Very important source of raw material for industries.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

WHAT??..WHY??...HOW??

Sustainable agriculture uses the principle of

ecological relationships between various

organisms for implementation in farming.

Satisfy human food and economy.

Enhance environmental quality.

Use of renewable energy resources.

Enhance the quality of life of

farmers.

PROCESSES: Rain Water Harvesting-Accumulation of rain water for reuse in

irrigation, livestock,drinking,etc.

•Aquatic agriculture-The technique involves creating floating

rafts on which vegetables, grains and flowers can be grown.

•Strip cropping- Growing of soil/nutrient consuming and nutrient

restoring crops in alternate strips.

•Rooftop agriculture-Growing of crops on roofs of huts and

houses.

•Crop rotation-Changing crops season wise to suit the needs of

the soil.

PRESENT Vs. SOLUTION oRain water harvesting will provide improved irrigation conserving water as opposed to canal irrigation

oProtection of soil by strip cropping and crop rotation from nutrient run off which is prevalent now due

to intensive farming.

oAquatic agriculture make use of water instead of soil as a base for agriculture

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

AND TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES

Extensive use of engineering strategies in agro science to magnify the quality and quantity of crops.

WHY GM CROPS??!! Much improved shelf life.

Increased nutrient quantity (e.g.:

carbohydrate 25.6% increase in GM rice.

Drought, frost, salinity, temperature

resistance. Crops can grow perennially.

Herbicide and pesticide resistance

(bromoxyil resistance in tobacco).

Production of biofuels due to lignin

content and medical drugs as by-products.

Bioremediation which could clean up

even TNT and RDX.

SITUATION vs. SOLUTION: Pesticide use containing Cadmium, Lead can be replaced if crops

themselves can fight off pests.

The nutritional quantity of current staple crops can be magnified

exponentially by the use of GM crops.

Soil and water depletion and erosion arise chiefly from chemicals

used in agriculture which can be obliterated.

The low labor to yield ratio can single handedly be overcome by

genetic engineering strategies.

IMPLEMENTING OUR SOLUTIONS

RAINWATER HARVESTING: •Initial flow of rainwater runoff in heavy rainfall regions – store

rainwater for irrigation and consumption before it reaches aquifer.

• Catchment- The area where rain is tapped (can be anything from a

concrete roof to an asbestos covering.

•Gutter Manifold, valves and pipes transport the collected rain

water from the catchment.

•Three layers of filtration: first the big particles like leaves and chips

are separated by overflow mechanism; mechanical filter removes

the dirt and a Carbon filter renders microorganisms vegetative.

•The water can then be stored in underground tanks and geotextile

sand beds for irrigation later or can directly recharge aquifers.

•Modern approaches like RainSaucer can be used instead of roofs

for catchments for less potency of water.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: Strip cropping- prevent soil erosion by growing small crop

like wheat, hay alternately with row crops like cotton, corn.

Small crops act as dams to run off of nutrients from rows.

Crop rotation- Growing dissimilar crops seasonally to

retain nutrients in soil. In a season, an extracting crop like

rice is grown while in next season leguminous plants like

Eucalyptus fix nutrients(nitrogen) back to the soil.

Rooftop Agriculture- Arid and harsh areas like Kashmir-

the huts’ oof a e soiled a d s all he s a e g ow . Aquatic Agriculture- Construction of rafts in freshwater

bodies for cultivation where landuse becomes strenuous.

Here…we prese t so e guidi g steps to the solutio

GENE“….THE BA“I“ OF LIFE!! Biotech crops involve modification of DNA to introduce new traits like pest resistance,

pathogen resistance.

Bacillus Thurengensis(Bt)- an insecticidal protein is genetically introduced in crops like

Cotton and brinjal. In cotton, it makes it resistant to bromoxynil. Use in sugarcane can

be done for resistance against red rot.

Basic genes are grown by biolistic(particle gun) method. Agrobacterium removes

bacterial T-DNA and replaces it with a foreign gene.

Tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana being the most resistant plants of earth can serve

as ideal genome models.

Examples: First gene modification was done in Tomato(Flavr Savr tomato). Inserted

DNA matched and magnified an endogenous gene creating RNA to interfere with

insects and nematodes.

Glycophosate kills plants by interfering with plant respiration. Roundup Ready GM

crops can be implemented for glycophosate resistance(Done in soya bean).

Several cross species genetics can be done for ideal results(Eg: Golden rice crossed

with 11th chromosome of maize to contain beta carotene(a source of vitamin A).

BT Cotton

STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED: •CGIAR promotes agro research for sustainable

development.

•FAO and World Bank fund and monitor the growth of the

agricultural sector.

•Jal Biradari by Tarun Bharat Sangh to teach rural people

about importance of water conservation and harvesting.

•Biodiversity International provide enough scope for gene

modification testing and implementing.

•Sustainable development programme by Anna Hazare can

be spread all over India.

more steps to implement…

…and for all this… e need…

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: •In rainwater harvesting minimum amount of expenditure and human sources are required since the method is simple.

•Strip cropping, crop rotation and rooftop agriculture are geology and climate dependant and hence funds and man

power is not in excess.

•Provision to cleanse freshwater lakes canals and rivers for development of aquatic agriculture(Personal and state wise

funding and labors).

GM CROPS:

•A/c to 2009 census, Rs. 4200cr were required for production of pesticides. This can be reduced to a minimum and it

can be use for research in GMC, their manufacture and educating peasants.

•Provision for biotechnologists and bio engineers for research.

•Private and Govt. funding for importing of machines for gene modification.

•Funding for apt technologies in refrigeration for in vitro cultivation of GM seeds and their storage along with the

harvest(which has an improved shelf life).

Hands and `GREENS’ for `The Green’

SOURCES OF THESE `GREENS’: With some $5.5 billion in net commitments from both IDA and

IBRD, and 24 ongoing projects, the World Bank’s agriculture and rural development program in India is by far the Bank’s largest such program worldwide in absolute dollar terms.(coordinated by the

Government of India’s Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna has laid an outlay of Rs. 9954cr

and Rs. 2250cr for mobilizing higher investment in sustainable

agriculture and National Food Security Mission.

Also with World Bank, ICAR has collaborated National Agro

Innovation Project for intensive research standing at an amt of

Rs.728cr.

Funding for GMC research by agro based industries like Kissan.

DIRECT IMPACTS

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

• Use of natural resource(water) reduces flooding, storm water runoff and erosion.

• Reducing water bill due to simple installation.

• Less depletion of natural water sources due to less competition by different sectors.

• Water conservation and excellent irrigation with no chemicals and salt residue.

• SUCCESS STORY- After a drought of 3 years, in SUKHOMAJRI in Haryana, there has been a flourish of forest and agriculture due to effects of PR Mishra in rain water harvesting. Crop yield increased from 6.83 to 14.32 qn/ha in 11 yrs.

AQUATIC & ROOFTOP

AGRICULTURE

• Aquatic Agriculture help grain crops on floatation, contributing to increased food production without spending fresh water beyond what normally evaporates from lakes.

• Proper utilization of space and resources lead to higher productivity in rooftop agriculture.

• Plants with sub-aquatic roots in aquatic agriculture increase the oxygen content of fresh water bodies resulting in biodiversity enrichment.

• SUCCESS STORY-The “ustai a le A uati Ag i ultu e fo Lakes project, of Grupo Cabal in Nicaragua and the Univesrity of Costa Rica in Costa Rica.

STRIP FARMING & CROP

ROTATION

• Small crops in strip cropping acts as dams, trapping soils eroded from row crops

• Equitable use of water & soil resources due to crop variations.

• Increase in GDP 16-20% as compared to intensive agriculture.

• In crop rotation, pests and pathoge s a ’t get esta lished due to change in plantation.(e.g.-Ergot from grain is naturally removed)

• Due to natural rotation & striping chemical fertilizers can be replaced by greens & browns(organic manures).

GM CROPS

• Increase in shelf life thrice its normal time period (Flavrsavr of tomato)

• Improved nutrients quantity leading to food security(e.g.-African White Corn 169x inc. in beta-carotin & 6x vitamin c)

• Resistance from environmental stress,herbicides(bromoxinin)& pathogens like cucumber mosaic virus.

• By-products like drugs and bio-plastics can be obtained contributing to a manifold increase in agro-GDP

>>Due to research in GM crops, employment in manufacturing production

&education(personal & industrial level) increases.

>>Aquatic & rooftop can promote employment even among housewives.

SUSTAINING SOLUTIONS:-

Any & all factories should be constructed away

from farm lands.

DNA level research organisations and technologies

to be implemented through out the country.

Awareness of indigenous success stories of

proposed solutions.

Television media(e.g.-tv show Kalyani),Radio media,

mass media(SMS messaging for advisory services to

farmers).

Launching of night farm schools and mobile vans to

educate farmers (e.g.-Rythu Ratnam-208, a high

technology mobile van launched in Andhra Pradesh).

Rainfall variability, runoff quality and quantity, local

skills and investment capacity, labour availability and

institutional support influence sustainability of

rainwater harvesting systems.

MONITORING MECHANISM:- Train farmers such that they can judge the

nutritional values & yield of their own crops.

Agro-societies to be set-up in villages so that

farmers can interact for better techniques of

sustainable agriculture.

Use of nano sensors for nutrient status in crops,

remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems

(GIS) to improve and monitor land use

It is extremely important to recruit on field

researchers such that there is no flow of genetic

residue from GM crops to non GM crops. This also

calls for an increase in employment.

To monitor large farms for sustainable development

satellite data should be used which is web-based soil

moisture information service for irrigation

management integrating data from specifically

designed on-site sensors with space imaging. India benefits from GM rice Increase in agro area by GM

maize

ECONOMIC *GMC requires large funds. *Construction of underground catch points-expensive. *Farming machines (Threshers)-crores of rupees.

POLITICAL & LEGAL >>Land acquisition Act-insufficient, untimely pay; reduce in area for sustainable agriculture. >>Ruling parties tend to neglect agro-research

TECHNOLOGICAL

# Less scope for genetic research India.

# Inadequate modern machinery in farms

SOCIAL ::Land Fragmentation-hierarchical division of land holdings(esp. poor farmers). :: fragmented lands ->less production ->odd jobs. :: Traditional farmers shun use of GMC

ENVIRONMENTAL >Water scarcity ,land degradation, soil salinity.

>some GMC unable to survive above conditions

>irregular rainfall render irrigation futile in some areas >chemical wastes from factories decrease soil fertility

CHALLENGES

TO OUR

SOLUTION

We feel pride in calling ourselves as the 2nd largest Agricultural Research system

(ARS) in World. When we review our performance we are no where in top ten of most

cited agriculture publications in the World.

ECONOMIC

• Collaboration of Govt. & Pvt. Sector for funding in research.

• Due to GMC & sustainable agriculture returns will be exponential in future along with low maintenance cost.

• Provision for micro-finance as introduced in Bangladesh(by Mohammad Yunus).

TECHNOLO

GICAL

• sensors for nutrient status in crops, remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve and monitor

land use and SMS messaging for enhancing advisory services to farmers should be implemented everywhere.

• Use of farm machines which use renewable energy sources(Wind,solar).e.g.-Combines could use solar energy.

POLITICAL

& LEGAL

• The Environmental Protection Agency in June 2007 declared that any legal research in agriculture has to be supported by the

Government as long as it is eco friendly.

• The ruling parties need to be aware of the success of GM crops and sustainability to properly promote them countrywide.

SOCIAL

• Proper training for use of modern mechinaries,GM crops.

• Night Agro-Schooling for farmers of all age-group.

• Awareness campaigns of successful implementations of solutions.

ENVIRONM

ENTAL

• WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT-Canal irrigation can be implemented in areas that are dry and rainwater harvesting can;t be

done due to lack of rainfall.

• Transportation of rain harvested water can be done as oil is trans ported across long distances.

• Growing of the GM seeds in artificial environment of greenhouse and the young plants then transported to farm.

• Constructing factories away from farms and producing GM crops immune to chemical reactions.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! (mitigate the challenges)

Accepting the challenges to feel the e hilaration of ictor ….

REFERENCES: •Satellite irrigation : http://www.linkedin.com/company/recycled-incorporated/satellite-

irrigation-monitoring-for-sustainable-agriculture-1571797/product

•Facts about agriculture and role of world bank - http://web.worldbank.org

•Report on GM Crop production worldwide

•Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 20,World Bank

•Indian Agriculture: Performance and Challenges-CSO

•Environmental challenges to agriculture- http://www.agritech.tnau.ac.in/sustainable_agri/

•Industry funding- isidev.nic.in

•Images and graphs from online newspaper surveys.

•Aquatic agriculture-http://www.scidev.net/

From survey about GM Food.