Summary:
BATHINDA: Agriculture scientists stressed the need for decreasing food wastage, which is impacting the food production in the country, as food wastage increases the burden on production.Speaking at the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), at Baba Farid group of institutions, Bathinda , experts also said innovation is the key to increase the stagnated agricultural production. They also recommended that to supplement farm income, farmers should process the produce as well.Former scientist at Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Sharad P Kale, said that stopping the wastage of food and water conservation should top the to-do list. “Also, we need to invent disease resistant varieties of food grains,” he said.The three-day national level conference on ‘food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture-emerging techniques’ kicked off on Thursday.The experts also pointed out that innovation is the need of the hour to sustainably increase agricultural production, improve global supply chain, decrease food losses and ensure that all who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition have access to nutritious food.Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI) chief executive officer, Sunil K Marwah, said that though India is the second largest producer of food grains after China, there are many roadblocks to cross to achieve optimum agricultural growth..