The lack of agricultural biodiversity in farming systems threatens nutritional security for nearly 3 billion people in India and Africa, or roughly 40 percent of the global population. Around 600 million smallholder farmers (with a bulk in India and Africa), who are working on less than two hectares of land and producing around 35 percent of world’s food, are key to maintaining biodiversity and ensuring food and nutrition security for their local as well as national populations. However, facing pressures of the homogenizing effects of globalization, their “economic viability and contribution to diversified landscape” is threatened. It also explains why millions of smallholder households in India and Africa are struggling to stay afloat. Regenerative agriculture, which is based on principles of agrobiodiversity, is an emerging pathway to address the challenge of food and nutrition security as well as support smallholders improve their farm productivity and income. Its focus on improving soil health and on-farm diversity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon dioxide while building climate resilience among smallholders also appreciates their role in climate change mitigation. The key aim of the discussion is to engage policymakers, researchers and civil society organizations working with smallholders in India and Africa on regenerative agriculture — to secure local food systems, improve biodiversity and ensure access to quality and nutritious food to rural communities.
This is an Invite-only event.
09:30 - 10:00 (IN)
10:00 - 10:40 (IN)
Welcome Address
Shatadru Chattopadhayay, Managing Director, Solidaridad Asia
Inaugural Address
Nilanjan Ghosh, Director-Centre for New Economic Diplomacy & Observer Research Foundation-Kolkata Centre
Special Address/s
Tharangani Wickremasinghe, Additional Secretary, Tea Development & Plantation Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture & Plantation Industries
Anuja Kadian, Chair, the FICCI Taskforce on Sustainable Agriculture/ Government and Industry Affairs Director (Asia Pacific) @ Corteva Agriscience
Keynote Address
Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Additional Secretary & MD Small Farmer’s Agri-Business Consortium (TBC)
Vote of Thanks
Prashant Pastore, Asia Head-Water & Agri Programme, Solidaridad Asia
10:40 - 10:45 (IN)
Shoba Suri, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
10:45 - 11:00 (IN)
11:00 - 12:00 (IN)
Suhas Wani, Ex-Director, ICRISAT India
Ajeet Chahal, Rice Team Lead - Asia Crop Science Division, Bayer
Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER
Nithyashree ML, Senior Scientist-Division of Agricultural Economics, ICAR-IARI
Manish Anand, Senior Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Nilabja Ghosh, Professor, Institute of Economic Growth
Moderator
Nitin Rao, Asia Lead for Planning & Innovation, Solidaridad Asia
12:00 - 12:10 (IN)
12:10 - 13:10 (IN)
Sarika Mittra, Consultant, Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, Alliance of Bioversity International, and CIAT, Asia-India Office
Godlove Nderingo, Senior Programme Manager, Tanzania, Solidaridad
Suresh Motwani, General Manager, Solidaridad India
Kaushal Bisht, Lead, Partnerships, Varaha
C.S.Dubey, Strategic Marketing & Technology Director, Cargill Animal Nutrition
Moderator
Monika Khanna, Country Manager, Solidaridad India
13:10 - 13:20 (IN)
13:20 - 13:30 (IN)
Summing Up & Vote of Thanks
Kritika Banerjee, Senior Editor, Solidaridad Asia
13:30 - 14:30 (IN)
