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| Use of IT,
biotechnology in agro sector
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| 01 January 1900 |
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Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala state government has formed a high-level committee to draw
up strategies for using biotechnology and information technology in
the agricultural sector. National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(New Delhi) president V L Chopra is the chairman of the committee.
The committee has been asked to identify areas for the potential use
of biotechnology and IT in major crops relevant to the states
agriculture - paddy, coconut, plantation and horticulture crops.
An order issued by the government in this regard noted that the
protection areas of application will, inter alia, include:
enhancing productivity through biotechnology-mediated variety
improvement; reducing the cost of cultivation through pest and disease
control; quality upgradation of agriculture products for domestic and
international marketing; reducing the use of pesticides and
environmental degradation.
The committee, it said, is to suggest interventions required for
promoting research into and commercialisation of biotechnology
applications in agriculture. It has also suggested a policy framework
for encouraging private sector participation in the spread of
biotechnology applications, including the nature of collaborative
arrangements between state government public research institutions and
private sector institutions, for the promotion of biotechnology
applications in agriculture.
Besides this, the committee is to draw up an intellectual property
rights policy for the state-level public research institutions for
biotechnology innovations within the overall framework of the national
laws and international agreements. It will also recommend the use of
biotechnology applications for creating an authentic database of
valuable plant and animal genetic resources in Kerala.
On the IT front, it is to suggest measures to make use of IT an
integral part of the extension system for agriculture. Measures for
the use of IT for technology transfer and dissemination of technical
and market-related information are also to be proposed by the
committee.
It is to suggest steps for use of IT as a tool for crop planning and
management at the micro level and for familiarising farmers with
innovative and hi-tech practices in agriculture. The committee will
also recommend measures for the use of the upgradation of agricultural
marketing systems and facilitating direct marketing of the agriculture
produce by farmers to consumers and industries.
The committee will prepare a report within three-to-six months and
thereafter meet periodically to monitor implementations of programmes
that are put in place. It will need to function for three years and
may need to meet once in three months.
The
members of the committee are: Y R Sarma, director, Indian Institute of
Spices Reasearch, Kozhikode; Vijay Bhatkar, chairman, Dishnet DSL Ltd,
Pune; S N Puri, vice-chancellor, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vishwavidyalaya,
Maharashtra; RA Mashelkar, director-general, CSIR, New Delhi; K P P
Nambiar, chairman, Indian Institute of Information Technology and
Management, Thiruvananthapuram; Raghava Varma Thampan, director, Rajiv
Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram; C J Thampi,
president, TM Natural Resource Research and Development Centre,
Thiruvananthapuram.
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