Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, October 22 2021: Union minister of state for education and external affairs Dr RK Ranjan delivered a talk on 'Issues on land degradation in North East India' as part of the 32nd lecture series of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Friday.
The lecture series conducted online was attended by CAU VC Dr Anupam Mishra, CAU director (extension) Dr S Basanta, CAU director of extension education Dr Ph Ranjit Sharma and staff of CAU headquarters apart from deans and faculties of 13 colleges affiliated to CAU.
The lecture series was a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration and ICAR deputy director general (agriculture education) Dr RC Agarwal welcomed the participants.
In his lecture, Dr RK Ranjan talked in detail about land degradation and its possible reasons, water utilisation, soil degradation, excessive rain, wrong agricultural practices in North East and conservation policy.
Citing UN report, RK Ranjan said that around 30 percent of the global land suffers soil degradation and this affects biological and economic productivity.
Though NE states are considered as organic states, various factors equally affect biodiversity of the region, he observed.
DARE secretary and ICAR director general Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, in his speech, stressed the need for strengthening water and soil conservation policies as also documentation of traditional farming methods and thoughts.
Around 1000 faculties and staff of the university took part in the lecture series conducted online.