UK-India organise Smart Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi
Department of Biotechnology's Smart Agriculture Conclave in partnership with the UK was held in New Delhi, 29 to 31 August 2017.
The Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, convened the Smart Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi, in partnership with the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Research Councils UK (RCUK) India.
The objective of this conclave was to create ‘FarmerZone’ - a collective open-source data platform for smart agriculture which will use biological research and data to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers. It is envisaged that ‘FarmerZone’ will help cater to all needs of the farmer, from dealing with climate change, weather predictions and soil, water, and seed requirements to providing market intelligence.
This conclave is DBT’s vision which aligns with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire for effective decision making in agriculture that integrates science, technology, innovation and the farm ecosystem.
With the agricultural conclave, DBT aims to advance the process of technological intervention to help small and marginal land-holding farmers, who constitute a major component of Indian agriculture.
The conclave identified the challenges faced in each agro-climatic region and discussed possible solutions through scientific interventions. The FarmerZone platform will connect farmers and scientists, government officials, thought leaders in agriculture, economists and representatives from global companies who work in the big-data and e-commerce space to bring about technology-based localised agri-solutions.
The platform will work on getting relevant quality data related to agriculture into the cloud, develop sentinel sites to help link with farmers and evolve PPP based enterprises for data delivery.
Food security is a global concern and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of families depend on small scale agriculture. The conclave worked to address this challenge collectively and showcased the enormous research strength of India and its international partners in a global context, to achieve impact and build strong and sustainable research and innovation partnerships.
Over two days, national and international experts in policy, IT, agritech companies, academics, farmers and representatives, along with research and innovation agencies from India, the UK and other countries, brought ideas, implementable solutions and discussed their potential role in building new partnerships that will help co-design and develop ‘FarmerZone’ - a public good that can be scaled up and applied across a number of different agro-climatic zones across the world.
Appreciating the FarmerZone initiative, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Indian Union Minister for Science Technology & Earth Sciences & Environment, Forests & Climate Change said the initial blueprint is very impressive, our the Prime Minister has a dream of doubling the income of farmers by 2022 and in accordance to that the recommendations of the conclave would be implemented with utmost urgency.
The conclave was chaired by Professor VijayRaghavan, Secretary DBT. He said:
This conclave has brought together a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from farmers, scientists and businesses from the national and international arena, who share DBT’s vision to use research and technology to deliver ‘FarmerZone’ that will focus on solutions in the farming ecosystem, especially for small and marginal farmers.
Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India said:
The joint initiative at the official as well as the academic level will further strengthen burgeoning relationship between the UK and India, and will go a long way to put to effect the enthusiasm of the Prime Ministers of both the nations to use research, innovation and technology for people’s benefits.
Steve Visscher CBE, Deputy Executive, International for BBSRC said:
The UK Research Councils have a strong, growing partnership with India – a vital research nation. BBSRC and RCUK India are delighted to work with DBT to help make their vision of ‘FarmerZone’ a reality that will benefit India and other areas in the world. This partnership demonstrates the vital role that research and innovation has in delivering prosperity and addressing shared global challenges.
The India and UK are delighted to be partnering on a new joint initiative under Newton-Bhabha Fund - ‘UK-India Agricultural Data: enhancement by integration, interpretation and reusability’ led by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), BBSRC and DBT. This joint programme aims to enhance the value of existing agricultural data focussing on animal and plant health to generate new knowledge that will inform effective pest and disease management.
The total UK budget available for this programme is £3.5 million (£1.75 million BBSRC and £1.75 million STFC) with matched resources from DBT.
This joint initiative programme is supported by the Newton-Bhabha Fund - a programme that aims to strengthen research and innovation partnerships between the UK and emerging knowledge economies.
The UK delivery partners and DBT will work together to develop this programme over the coming months, please visit the DBT and BBSRC websites regularly for updates and further information.
Further information
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Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, is India’s nodal organisation for promoting bioscience research and development in the country. It is mandated to promote large scale use of biotechnology, support R&D and manufacturing in biology, support autonomous institutions, promote University and industry interaction, identify and set up Centres of Excellence for R&D, integrated programme for human resource development, serve as nodal point for specific international collaborations, establishment of Infrastructure Facilities to support R&D and production, evolve Bio Safety Guidelines, manufacture and application of cell based vaccines, serve as nodal point for the collection and dissemination of information relating to biotechnology.
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The UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Councils (BBSRC) is one of seven research councils that work together as Research Councils UK (RCUK). BBSRC are funded by the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. They invested £473 million in world-class bioscience, people and research infrastructure in 2015-16 and support around 1600 scientists and 2000research students in universities and institutes across the UK. BBSRC’s vision is to lead world-class 21st century bioscience, promoting innovation in the bio economy and realising benefits for society within and beyond the UK.
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Research Councils UK (RCUK) India, launched in 2008, brings together the best researchers in the UK and India through high-quality, high-impact research partnerships. RCUK India, based at the British High Commission in New Delhi, has facilitated co-funded initiatives between the UK, India and third parties exceeding £230 million. The research collaborations are often closely linked with UK and Indian industry partners, with more than 100 partners involved in the research. RCUK India is actively involved in co-funded research activities with seven major Indian research funders on a wide array of research themes addressing global challenges.
- Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK’s seven Research Councils. Our collective ambition is to ensure the UK remains the best place in the world to do research, innovate and grow business. The Research Councils are central to delivering research and innovation for economic growth and societal impact. Together, we invest £3 billion in research each year, covering all disciplines and sectors, to meet tomorrow’s challenges today. Our investments create new knowledge through: funding research excellence; responding to society’s challenges; developing skills, leadership and infrastructure; and leading the UK’s research direction. We drive innovation through: creating environments and brokering partnerships; co-delivering research and innovation with over 2,500 businesses, 1,000 of which are SMEs; and providing intelligence for policy making. The seven UK Research Councils are:
- The Newton Fund in India is known as the Newton-Bhabha Fund. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 18 partner countries to support economic development and social welfare, and to develop research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth. It has a total UK Government investment across all countries of £735 million up until 2021, with matched resources from the partner countries. The Newton Fund is managed by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and delivered through 15 UK delivery partners, which include the Research Councils, the UK Academies, the British Council, Innovate UK and the Met Office.
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