CII Agro Tech India 2022 Brings The Best Of Practices For Tech & Sustainability In Agri Sector
“CII has done a wonderful job with Agro Tech India by bringing in a synergy between agriculture and the industry, and also by bringing all relevant stakeholders at one platform. Our ultimate aim should be to generate sustainable incomes for our farmers. This will reduce poverty and enhance prosperity for our ‘Annadatas’. We need to focus on not just on food production but also on food processing and value addition. This will go a long way in transforming Indian agriculture in the 21st century,” shared Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, Hon’ble Vice President of India at the inaugural session of CII Agro Tech India 2022 .
He further said that with the contribution of our visionary policymakers, ingenious scientific minds and above all, our Annadatas, India has attained the feet of becoming – the largest producer of millets, pulses, milk, and jute in the world the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, vegetables, fruits, and cotton with these stupendous achievements, one cannot but say – Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan!
The Indian Agriculture and allied sector continue to be pivotal to the sustainable growth and development of the Indian economy. Tapping into the urgent need of creating linkages for value creation and value addition, Confederation of Indian Industry flagged off the 15th edition of its Premier Biennial Agro Technology & Business Fair, CII Agro Tech India 2022. Making its return after 2018, the mega agri fair started in the city on Friday. The response on the first day was overwhelming with farmers from the region thronging the fair and enthusiastically learning from the best practices of other states and partner countries.
Talking about the theme for this year, Mr Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, CII Agro Tech India 2022 & Chairman & Managing Director, ITC Ltd said, “The theme very aptly captures the challenges that agriculture faces and most importantly, the opportunities that are immense for this sector. CII Agro Tech India 2022 will focus on sustainable agricultural technologies, enhancing productivity and innovations for growth. Agro Tech reflects one important intervention in our journey to make a meaningful contribution to transforming Indian agriculture from production centric system to demand centric system with Modern Technology & Sustainable Agriculture.”
The theme of this year’s edition is ‘Digital Transformation for Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security’ which encompasses focusing on sustainable agriculture; technologies; enhancing productivity and profitability for various stakeholders in the agriculture chain; innovations for growth and sharing of best practices for agri-excellence.
The calendar of the four-day CII Agro Tech India 2022 is marked with many conferences that revolve around sustainability, dairy, water and natural resource management, etc. and 7 kisan goshthees. The exhibition hall is spread across 16,000 square km (gross). It is divided into several concurrent shows namely, Good Earth, Food Tech, Farm Tech, Dairy and Livestock Expo, Implementex, Farm Services and Irrigation & Water Management. The event will consist of 246 exhibitors, including 27 international exhibitors from as many as 4 countries this year.
Sharing about the host State Haryana’s agri sector, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Hon’ble Governor of Haryana said that Haryana though has a comparatively small geographical area, it is one of the biggest contributors to the food basket of India. Agriculture is backbone of Indian GDP and Haryana’s contribution to agriculture is such that 14 crops are being purchased under MSP, which is the highest in the country. Haryana has record production of paddy, milk and now wheat also. The initiatives by central & state governments have supported production of oilseeds and reduced stubble burning in the State as well.
“I am happy that CII has created this much needed platform that focuses on sustainability, agriculture, and food security that will help take the agri sector to a global scale through digital transformation,” Shri Dattatreya shared.
Punjab is also one of the major agri-focused States and a big contributor to the national economy. The efforts of Punjab’s farmers have contributed to National Development & Food Security and the well-being of our Punjab. “Punjab having land area of only 3 percent of the net cultivative land of the country contributes to 25-35% of rice, 38-50% of wheat to the central pool of food & grain. The state ranks 4th in the world in the terms of productivity and first in India amongst all the other states. I am proud being a governor of Punjab,” shared Shri Banwarilal Purohit, Hon’ble Governor of Punjab & Administrator of Chandigarh.
He further said, “I’m sure that CII Agro Tech India will discuss all issues of the agri community and arrive at practical solutions that can be implemented by the government.”
Punjab & Haryana are host states at Agro Tech India 2022, while UT of Jammu & Kashmir is a partner state.
Sharing the importance of Agro Tech India, Mr Deepak Jain, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region and Chairman & Managing Director, Lumax Industries Ltd said, “CII recognises the importance of agriculture and its linkage with the other pillars of the economy. We have been proactively linking industry to the agriculture sector by setting up of specific task forces, policy recommendations and organising fairs and events across the country. Agro Tech India 2022 is one such endeavour of CII.”
Highlighting further the initiatives of CII towards sustainability, he shared that CII has been working with industry, agriculture universities and farmers to work together toward crop residue management to curb air pollution. CII reiterates the government’s initiatives towards deterring indiscriminate use of water for irrigation for promoting sustainable agriculture. CII is also working with industry for crop residue management.
Sharing the importance of new technology and digitisation, Mr Tarun Sawhney, Co-Chairman, CII Agro Tech India 2022 & Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd said, “Digital technologies offer a potential solution to improve sustainability of agri-food systems around the globe. CII believes that emerging technologies such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Advanced Analytics can help digitise farm value chains. Focus has been on policy issues, upgrading the technology quotient as well as imparting specific skill sets to the farming community.”
Punjab agriculture minister Shri Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal was also present during the occasion.
