Precision agriculture is the need of the hour: Prof. V. K. Saraswat

Precision agriculture is the need of the hour: Prof. V. K. Saraswat

Dehradun, May 7

Member of NITI Aayog and Chancellor of Graphic Era Deemed University, Dr. V. K. Saraswat said that advanced technologies such as IoT and Artificial Intelligence are making computational biology and sustainable food systems more effective. These technologies can strengthen productivity and environmental conservation while ensuring balanced utilization of resources.

He was addressing the inaugural session of the three-day international conference on ‘Emerging Technologies in Computational Biology and Sustainable Food Systems’ at Graphic Era Deemed University today. Dr. Saraswat said that after Independence, India focused heavily on increasing food production to overcome the food crisis, but in the process, the nutritional quality of food grains was affected. Emphasizing the responsibility of scientists, he said that merely increasing production is no longer enough, improving productivity while maintaining nutritional quality has become the need of the hour.

He further stated that by 2050, the world population is expected to reach nearly ten billion, making food security a major challenge. Issues such as shrinking agricultural land, water scarcity, declining pollinator populations, and uncertain climate conditions are affecting the agriculture sector. Therefore, special attention must be given to developing climate-resilient and sustainable crops.

Director General of DRDO, Dr. Upendra Kumar Singh said that emerging technologies like data mining, quantum computing, and AI are becoming the foundation of future research and are opening new directions for scientific studies. These technologies are enabling more accurate gene studies, analysis of genetic variants, and disease prediction.

Dr. Upendra added that AI-based modern technologies are also playing an important role in accurate monsoon forecasting, studying food habits across regions, and analyzing crop conditions.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Narpinder Singh said that integration of computational technologies with various sectors has become one of the greatest needs of the future. In this rapidly changing era of science and technology, students and researchers must prepare themselves according to emerging technologies. He added that fields like Artificial Intelligence, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology are shaping a new direction for scientific advancement.

The three-day international conference will feature ten technical sessions on topics including computational biology, bioinformatics, sustainable food systems, food security, drug designing, diagnostics, climate change, sustainable agriculture, nutritional security, and healthcare innovation. Participants from India and abroad are attending the conference in both online and offline modes. During the event, Dr. V. K. Saraswat and Dr. U. K. Singh also planted Rudraksha saplings to promote environmental conservation and sustainable development.

The conference has been jointly organized by the Department of Biosciences and the Department of Hospitality Management of Graphic Era Deemed University. The event was attended by Pro-Chancellor Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Santosh S. Saraf, Registrar Dr. Naresh Kumar Sharma, Head of the Department of Biosciences Dr. Manu Pant, Head of Hospitality Management Department Dr. Amar Dabral, along with  other faculty members, and students