2020 World Food Prize Winner Dr. Rattan Lal calls for Restoring Soil Health to Produce More Food during a webinar at Amity University
New Delhi: Amity Food & Agriculture Foundation (AFAF) organized a webinar wherein Dr. Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor (Soil Science) and Founding Director, Carbon Management & Sequestration Centre, The Ohio State University, USA shared his views on “Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Food and Agriculture in India”. Dr. Lal is the winner of prestigious 2020 World Food Prize also known as the ‘Nobel’ for Agriculture.
Dr. Lal appreciated the scientific and technical innovations being carried out by Amity University. He stated that per capita food production has grown tremendously in the country but also affected the soil causing it to degrade. He shared that residue burning in the country was a serious issue along with food wastage and how hunger and malnutrition may worsen with global warming. He stressed on increasing food and nutritional security in the country by reducing waste; increasing access to food by addressing poverty, inequality, civil strife and political instability; Improving distribution; Increasing use of pulses and plant-based diet; accepting personal responsibility of not taking things for granted and increasing agronomic productivity from existing land by eco-intensification and restoration of soil health.
He averred India’s paradigm shift could be achieved by restoring soil health and producing more food. Dr. Lal detailed that rather than being input-based, the Green Revolution of the 21st century must be based on soil resilience, be eco-efficient and must be driven by science & management. He asserted that India must reconcile the needs to advance food/nutritional security with absolute necessity of restoring degraded soils and improving the environment.
Dr. Rattan Lal, native of India and a citizen of the United States will receive the 2020 World Food Prize in recognition of his contribution to increasing the global food supply by helping small farmers improve their farmland soils. His career spanning over more than five decades and four continents, Dr. Lal has promoted innovative soil-saving techniques benefiting the livelihoods of more than 500 million smallholder farmers, improving the food and nutritional security of more than two billion people and saving hundreds of millions of hectares of natural tropical ecosystems.
Dr. Ashok K Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Group of Institutions stressed on the importance of the views shared by Dr. Lal and how he is inspiring everyone to consider taking revolutionary decisions in the field of soil health management. Dr. Chauhan announced for the creation of Satellite Centre of Carbon Management Sequestration at Amity University Noida and other campuses in India and across the globe.
Also present on the occasion were Dr. W. Selvamurthy, DG, ADSI & President ASTIF and Dr. Nutan Kaushik, Director General, Food & Agriculture Foundation along with thousands of students and faculty members across various social media platforms.