conducting regular socio-economic surveys . The Minister added that this will help government to formulate plans for the farmers especially the small and marginal farmers . Mr Singh said that it is imperative to remove regional disparity so as to achieve economic and social development and regional disparity cannot be removed until the related statistics are provided .
He further said that statistics play a vital role to formulate the schemes related to agriculture , agricultural products and other arenas . For instance , to implement crop insurance scheme , its product estimation is required on Panchayat and at village level . Mr Singh requested the state government that they should take an active initiative to strengthen their methodology in the perspective of agricultural statistics .
GOVT MULLS ACTION PLAN FOR BOVINE BREEDING , INCREASING MILK PRODUCTION
On the sideline of the visits to the facilities of ICAR-NDRI and NBAGR , Karnal ( Haryana ), the Secretary for Department of Animal Husbandry , Dairying and Fisheries , Ministry of Agriculture , Mr Devendra Chaudhary interacted with the scientists . Mr Chaudhary on 25th June 2016 also had interactive discussion on “ National Bovine Genomic Centre for Indigenous Breeds ” and National Action Plan on bovine breeding .
The Secretary stressed the scientists to work towards enhancement of productivity in indigenous breeds of cattle , as more than 80 % of indigenous animals are with small & marginal farmers and landless labours yielding 3kgs of milk per day . He also discussed the National Action Plan for bovine breeding with the all States at length from 20 to 23 and 27th June 2016 in New Delhi . All the States agreed to implement National Action Plan that envisages enhancing productivity of indigenous cattle to 5 kg / per animal / day and AI coverage from the present level of 25 % to 70 % by 2019-20 ? It was also mentioned that an amount of Rs 3700 crores will be required by States to implement this NAP .
BIG DATA ANALYTICS IN AGRICULTURE : TRAINING PROGRAM HELD AT ICAR-NAARM
A 10-days training programme on big data analytics in agriculture was organized at Indian Council for Agricultural Research ( ICAR ) - National Academy of Agricultural Research Management ( NAARM ), Hyderabad during 13-22 June 2016 .
This programme was sponsored by Department of Science and Technology ( DST ), Government of India wherein forty participants including scientists , business managers , professionals , young entrepreneurs and students from different parts of the country have taken part . The programme was intended to train the participants in Big Data Analytics with applications in agriculture . The valedictory function was held on June 22 , 2016 with Prof D Janakiram , Head , Dept . of Computer Science , IIT , Chennai as the chief guest .
The Joint Director , Dr R Kalpana Sastry mentioned that the Academy took lead in Big Data Analytics in Agriculture in the country which will benefit in strengthening agriculture research system . The Director , Dr D Rama Rao congratulated the Programme Directors Dr S Ravichandran and Dr N Sivaramane for successful completion of the programme . The coordinators acknowledged the support given by Dr K R Murali Mohan , Head , Big Data Initiatives , DST , New Delhi .
SCIENTISTS SHOULD FOCUS ON FARMER-ORIENTED RESEARCH : MINISTER
During his visit to the ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute , Kochi recently , the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers welfare , Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan highlighted the need for a much effective target oriented research to help the farmers .
In an interface meeting with Kochi based institutes under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Dr Balyan urged the scientists to focus on farmer-oriented research activities to improve the agriculture sector of the country . Long-term planning was required to formulate developmental projects aimed at boosting the agriculture and fish production in the country , he added . The Minister appreciated the contributions of ICAR-CMFRI in the development of sea cage farming and seed production technology for species such as cobia , silver pompano and orange spotted grouper .
INDO-EU ‘ WATER4CROPS ’ PROJECT – A BOON TO WATER-SCARCE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
Review meeting on the completion of 4 years of € 9 million Indo-EU ‘ Water4crops ’ project was held from 15-17th of June , 2016 at New Delhi . Co-funded by Indian government through its Department of Biotechnology ( DBT ) under the Ministry of Science and Technology along with the European Union , this project integrates biotreated wastewater reuse with enhanced water-use efficiency to support the Green Economy in EU and India .
The minister of State for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences , Mr Y S Chowdary , chaired the inaugural session of the Review and Planning Meeting on the completion of 4 years of project on June 15 at New Delhi .
As a result of this initiative , the chemical and biological oxygen demand in waste waters has reduced by 30-92 %. Moreover , crop yield evaluations have shown increased yields of the order of 14 to 40 % for crops like okra , brinjal and chilly irrigated with treated wastewater as compared to fresh water . In addition to increased yields , the secondary treatment of waste water for agriculture leads to more tertiarytreated potable water being available for domestic use .
agriculture
ANIL MADHAV DAVE JOINS AS INDIA ' S NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER
Mr Anil Madhav Dave , Member of Parliament representing Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha since 2009 , took oath on July 05 as Minister of State at the Rashtrapati Bhavan ( President ' s House ). Mr Dave has been allocated the Ministry of Environment , Forest and Climate Change ( Independent Charge ) by the Prime Minister of India .
Best known as a social worker and engaged currently with the conservation of the Narmada river , Mr Dave has been a member of the Committee on Water Resources , member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting . From March 2010 to June 2010 , he has also been a member of the Parliamentary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change . His huge experience can come handy as far as overall handling of the ministry is concerned .
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