Hyderabad, Dec.1 (RAHNUMA): The 33rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA), India, was inaugurated on Monday at ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad, focusing on the theme “Innovations in Agribusiness, Empowering Women, and Climate-Resilient Agriculture”.
Chief guest Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog underscored that innovations in agribusiness trigger positive change and continuous improvement. He stressed the need to expand rural women’s access to markets to enhance their economic empowerment. Highlighting that women constitute 34% of the total workforce and their participation in agri-activities has risen to 12%, he said their productivity remains remarkably high. He also called for a gradual reduction in agricultural emissions to mitigate climate change and noted the strong and consistent growth of Indian agriculture over the past decade.
Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, spoke about immense opportunities for innovation across the agri-food system. He emphasised enabling environments, collaborations, partnerships, and greater investments as key drivers for fostering innovation and urged scientists to release more climate-resilient crop varieties.
Dr. Anjani Kumar, Secretary, AERA and Senior Fellow, IFPRI, highlighted AERA’s expanding global presence, including increased foreign membership.
Dr. P.K. Joshi, President AERA and Former Director, IFPRI South Asia and ICAR-NAARM, stressed converting agricultural challenges into opportunities through agribusiness-led transformation. He lauded India’s journey from a deficit nation to a self-sufficient and export-oriented agricultural economy and advocated “rainbow policies” to complement the success of India’s multiple agriculture-led revolutions.
Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, former Asia Regional Director, CIP and Founding Director, Centre for Sustainable Agri-Systems, PJTSAU, urged researchers to reinvent themselves to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving agricultural landscape.
Dr. A.K. Sood, Deputy Managing Director, NABARD, the Guest of Honour, detailed NABARD’s key interventions – including SHG-led microfinance for women, support for technological innovations, and facilitation of rural and agri-startups.
Earlier, Dr. Gopal Lal, Acting Director, NAARM, welcomed the delegates and presented the institute’s achievements as part of its golden jubilee celebrations.
The conference featured technical sessions on “Agribusiness Innovation, Women Empowerment and Gender Equity in Agriculture, and Climate-Resilient Farming Strategies”. About 300 participants, including agricultural economists, industry experts, scientists, young scholars, students, and NAARM faculty attended.
Dr. Ranjith Kumar, Principal Scientist and CEO, a-IDEA, proposed the vote of thanks.
