By IANS
New Delhi : Twelve days after she took over as India’s president, Pratibha Patil Monday stepped out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan for her first “public assignment” to express concern on agricultural strategies, gender and food security.
Patil’s decision to preside over a special lecture by FAO Director General Jacques Diouf on “Agriculture cannot wait” was a deliberate one.
“This is my first public assignment. The reason I chose this was because everything can wait but not agriculture,” Patil told the gathering at the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences complex after her 10-minute speech in English.
The president, who also urged for major investments in the agriculture sector, came seven minutes late in a purple-bordered white sari and spoke to National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) president M.S. Swaminathan and Diouf on the dais.
Patil said agricultural strategies should not only be “pro-poor and pro-nature, but also pro-woman”.
Recollecting the role of women in forest conservation, dairy farming and agriculture-related labour, she said: “We must therefore endeavour to mainstream gender consideration in all areas of agriculture research, education and extension.
“Involving women, particularly for resources conservation and management and regeneration of wastelands can have a high pay off.”
The president also stressed the importance of “safeguarding the integrity of natural eco-systems” while increasing the fertility of the available land.
She said the success story of the first Green Revolution had run its course and “we cannot afford to rest on our laurels”.
“Technology generation is not useful unless it is user-friendly for the farmers. Therefore, transfer of technology right at the doorsteps of farmers should be the top-most priority of various agricultural institutes and universities.”
Patil entered Rashtrapati Bhavan 12 days ago as India’s first woman president, but has largely remained confined within the precincts of the President’s Estate, entertaining visitors and well-wishers.
In his lecture, Diouf said investment in rural infrastructure, small-scale water management, storage facilities and port, agriculture research and education for stimulating agriculture production and productivity.
Admitting that trade can offer opportunities for the poor, Diouf warned: “Opening national agricultural markets to international competition before basic institutions and infrastructure are in place can undermine the agricultural sector, with long-term negative effects for poverty and food security.”