Shri Harish Chandra Durga Pal, Minister of Labour, Khadi and Small Industries, Government of Uttarakhand inaugurated the 23rd Meeting of ICAR Regional Committee-1 on 18th June, 2014 at Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI), Dehradun.
In his address, Shri Pal highlighted the problems being faced by the agriculture and alied sectors in the hilly states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Citing the examples of loss of apple production due to climate changes in Uttarakhand, he called upon scientists for effective technologies and field solutions for soil, water and forest conservation. Shri Pal said water harvesting, flood control, soil conservation measures, organic fertilization, and scientific inputs are the prime needs of the region to boost the agricultural, horticultural and fisheries production. He also emphasized upon the climate resilient technologies in the view of recent changes in the climate.
Shri Arvind Kaushal, Additional Secretary, DARE and Secretary, ICAR briefed the gathering about the facilities, role and strengths of ICAR by listing out research institutes and research centres of ICAR, Agricultural Universities and KVKs. He said that these premier institutions are addressing the challenges of agriculture in the country.