Bhubaneswar, July 31: Agriculture minister Damodar Rout today stressed on the need for conservation of natural resources and technological interventions to improve farming in the tribal regions of the state - where agriculture growth is lagging behind.
While inaugurating a two-day national consultation on "Bioresources for sustainable development" here, Rout urged the scientific and research communities for paying attention to the rich traditional knowledge associated with the use of biological resources to improve agriculture. Rout said technological applications were needed in an integrated way, addressing various sectors of agriculture - crops, forests, livestock and fisheries.
The Institute of Life Sciences and the Institute of Bio-Resources and Sustainable Development, Imphal, are organising the consultation to address the issues of biodiversity, agriculture and health. It will also discuss the challenges and opportunities to improve agriculture productivity and health status of the tribal and rural population inhabiting in the bio-resources rich region.
Science and technology minister Badri Narayan Patra spoke about the value of biodiversity in the health care system. He asked scientists and researchers to use advanced biotechnological tools for drug discovery based on the traditional system of medicine.
The agriculture department's principal secretary Manoj Ahuja and science and technology department's secretary V.V. Yadav spoke about various initiatives the state government is undertaking in the area of bio-resources management, agriculture development and use of technology application. They called for urgent scientific and technological interventions for addressing challenges in the agricultural production, particularly in view of climate change, reduced water availability, uncertain rainfall and market volatility.
Institute of Life Sciences director (Bhubaneswar) Ajay Parida, in his address, stressed on the need for undertaking research in understanding the diversity, conservation and genetic enhancement of the bio-resources for improving lives and livelihoods of the rural and tribal communities. He said that with the intervention of science and technology, it would be possible to break the dichotomy of "Prosperity of Nature" and "Poverty of People".
Institute of Bio-Resources and Sustainable Development director (Imphal) Dinabandu Sahoo spoke about the striking similarity of biodiversity richness in Odisha and the Northeast regions of the country.