PM Modi Addressed 3rd Global Potato Conclave held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

On January 28, 2020 the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 3rd edition of the Global Potato Conclave at Gandhinagar, Gujarat through video conference. The 4-day conclave from January 28-31 is being organised by Indian Potato Association (IPA) in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR), New Delhi, and ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh and International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru.3 major events are also being witnessed in the event. They are Potato Conference, Agri Expo and Potato Field Day.

3rd Global Potato Conclave: 

i.Conclave aim: The conclave is organised to make the participants exposed to the frontiers of knowledge and to enhance innovation in potato research. During the conclave, scientists, potato farmers and other stakeholders from around the world are participating where important topics related to food and nutrition will be discussed.

ii.Gujarat in potato production: Gujarat is the leading state in potato production and productivity in India and holds the no.1 position for the last one decade. The area under potato cultivation has increased by about 20% over the past 11 years, while it has increased 170% in Gujarat in the same period.

• Gujarat having major potato production companies in the state led it to be a major potato hub in the country.
• Potato acreage: The acreage of potatoes increased more than two fold to 13.3lakh hectare in 2017-18. The yields are at over 30 tonne per hectare in the state.

iii.Themes: The 3rd edition of the potato conference is based on 10 themes out of which 8 themes are based on basic and applied research. The 10 themes are

• Germplasm management and next generation breeding; Potato biotechnology and omics; AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Information and Communications Technology(ICT)in Potato Research and development (R&D); Climate change and crop management,
• Potato disease management; Potato pest management; Advances in seed technology; Post harvest management and value addition; Potato value chain management, Trade and industry and technology transfer, policy and social issues.

iv.Agri Expo: The Agri Expo organised from January 28-30, 2020 showcases the status of potato based industries in trade, potato processing, technology transfer etc.

v.Potato Field Day: The expo will be organised on January 31, 2020 and will demonstrate advancements in potato mechanisation, potato varieties, latest challenges etc.  6000 farmers undertook field visits on field day.

vi.Previous editions: The previous two Global Potato Conferences were organized in 1999, and 2008.

New record: Rs 12,000 cr transferred under DBT of 6 crore farmers:
A new record was created recently were an amount of Rs. 12,000 crores were transferred directly to the bank accounts of 6 crore farmers under the Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT)facility.

Steps taken by govt to enhance agricultural practices:

i.Doubling farmers’ income: India is among the top 3 countries in production of various cereals and other food items as a result of efforts put by the farmers. The govt also aims to double farmers’ income by 2020.

ii.Sampada scheme: The food processing sector has been opened to 100% FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), helping in development through PM Kisan Sampada Yojana(Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) with an allocation of Rs 6000 crores from 2016-20.

About Gujarat:
Capital- Gandhinagar.
Governor- Acharya Devvrat.
Chief minister- Vijay Ramniklal Rupani.
National Parks(NP)- Gir NP, Blackbuck NP, Vansda NP, Marine NP.