Agriculture is a $3 trillion industry that supplies sustenance, employment, and income to rural communities across the globe. To help India’s agriculture transition sustainably and productively into the future, ICRISAT’s FARM Technology Days (FTDs) were born. The event will be held on 23-24 September 2022 at the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad.
Inaugurated in 2005, FTDs are India’s largest agri-tech event. Agriculture technology experts from around the globe gather to forge partnerships and share ideas with Indian researchers and farmers on rice, wheat, and other crops. Over the past decade, FTDs have reached more than 750,000 participants in nearly 20,000 villages across India. FARM Technology Days are now moving online to reach more people with its online outreach programme AgriXplor.
What are FARM Technology Days (FTDs)?
The FARM Technology Days are ICRISAT’s flagship event to showcase its innovations in agriculture technology for sustainable development. It is an annual event targeted at sharing the latest research and practices in agriculture technology, disseminating information on agricultural innovations, and promoting networking among stakeholders from around the world. Held in Hyderabad on 23-24 September 2022, it will be a two-day event attended by policy makers, farmers, and other stakeholders from across the globe.
What’s new about this FTD?
ICRISAT has officially sanctioned FTDs for five more years. This is a major milestone for the event, which was first held in September 2005. Five years is a long time in the field of agriculture, and it was clear that India’s Agri sector was gaining a lot of momentum. Since then, ICRISAT has partnered with international research institutions such as the University of Minnesota and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The IRRI is an agro tech giant with an even bigger vision—to make information technology accessible to small farmers in Asia’s poorest countries. Andhra Pradesh State Government is also on board to help scale FARM Technology Days over the coming years. The FTDs will be held at ICRISAT’s campus in Hyderabad at Rashtrapati Bhavan Road (north Mandal) along Godavari Colony.
How were FTDs envisioned?
The idea for the first FARM Technology Days (FTDs) came to ICRISAT's Executive Director, Dr. K. Ravindra Babu, during a visit to IRRI in the Philippines in 1997. He was deeply impressed by IRRI’s work and convinced that it would be important to replicate their models of agricultural research in India. The first FTDs, then known as IRRI-ICRISAT Rice Technology Days (IRRTDs), were inaugurated in Hyderabad on 11-12 September 2000 by the former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam with a host of esteemed guests from across the world.
Why were FTDs launched? Who was behind them?
The primary goal of the first IRRTDs was to demonstrate that an event like this could be held successfully in India and to spread awareness of agricultural research and technology through demonstrations, workshops, and discussions led by specialists from ICRISAT’s Research and Training centers (RTCs). The founding team of Dr. Ravindra Babu, Dr. Shashi Bhushan, and Mr. John Stoner were key to its success.
What was ICRISAT’s role in the first IRRTDs?
ICRISAT played an advisory role in the first IRRTDs and shared important insights into how such events could be organized successfully in India. It identified the productivity challenges facing Indian farmers, researched possible solutions, and translated this knowledge into technologies for dissemination through RTCs and other partners across the country.
Conclusion
ICRISAT’s rice research and extension have made tremendous strides in the past fifteen years. Thanks to initiatives such as these, farmers have access to improved seed varieties, soil and water management practices, and pest management interventions. They are also discovering new ways to increase productivity year after year. All of this has contributed to India’s leadership in rice research internationally. The next five years will be a testing time for Indian agriculture and FARM Technology Days will play an important role in spreading awareness regarding the potential of agricultural technologies that could help solve some of the serious challenges facing farmers today.
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