S.R. Niranjana, Vice-Chancellor of Gulbarga University, has expressed concern over the adverse impact of global warming on agricultural productivity and food security.

Delivering the inaugural address at a national symposium on ‘Recent trends in plant pathological research and education’ here on Tuesday, he called upon agricultural scientists to orient their research to address issues that could possibly arise out of climate change.

The symposium was jointly organised by the Indian Phytopathological Society and University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur.

Adverse impact

“Climate change will definitely adversely impact food productivity and lead to rise of prices of foodgrains worldwide. The scenario will lead to social unrest and famine. Projections have shown that the production of major cereals will be decreased by 2020. The production of rice will come down by 11 per cent and that of wheat by 14 per cent. The elevated carbon dioxide level will lead to reduction of nutritional quality in many crops. Global warming will impact the rainfall pattern and also lead to increase in the number of pests,” Mr. Niranjana said. He stressed the need to develop crop verities resilient to climatic fluctuations.

Pest control

Pointing out the role of pests in the drop in yield and increase in the cost of production, Mr. Nijanjana said that 500 million tonnes of foodgrains were lost annually duo to plant diseases. He said that the current pest control methods were, to some extent, costly and inefficient.

Mr. Niranjana said that there was a need to put all tools of modern science to work for better management of our limited resources, reducing pre and post harvest losses and improving the capacity of hungry people to purchase food.

“Utilisation of technology for India’s development is more dependent on practical experiences of farmers than the statements on acceptance or rejection of new technologies. Plant pathologists need to come up with technologies that are safe for humans, animals and environment,” he said.

Counselling

A.H. Rajasab, Vice-Chancellor of Tumkur University, said that there was a need to counsel farmers and agricultural labourers in distress to prevent them from taking extreme steps.

“Only development of technologies won’t save the country. A laptop or smartphone cannot produce food. It is hard working farmers who do it. There is an urgent need to protect our farmers and agricultural labourers. Agricultural universities must take up the task of counselling farmers in distress,” he said.

P.M. Salimath, Vice-Chancellor of UAS-R; C.D. Mayee, former chairman of Agriculture Scientists Recruitment Board; B.V. Patil, former Vice-Chancellor and Director of Education of UAS-R; and plant pathologists M.K. Naik and GururajSunkad were present.