Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Development Goals: Potential Opportunities and Strategies in India Chaudhari S.K.1*, Jat M.L.2, Chakraborty Debashis3, Biswas A.K.4, Maity P. Pramanik3, Mohapatra T.5 1Krishi Anusandhan Bhawan-II, Division of Natural Resource Management, New Delhi-110 012 2CIMMYT, India 3ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012 4Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal-462038, Madhya Pradesh 5Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110 012 *Corresponding author, Email: ddg.nrm@icar.gov.in
Online published on 22 March, 2022. Abstract To meet the demands of its population is the primary objective of a civilization. The peace and prosperity of its citizens has always been the priority for all the public policy thinktanks and implementation units before drafting of a strategy. With burgeoning population and limited availability of resources, synergy in human-nature interaction has become the pivotal necessity in strategy planning and its implementation. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, adopted by the United Nations, is the latest endeavor by the global community in this regard. The core agendas of SDGs include poverty, hunger, health, education, energy, peace, justice and economic growth. Multi-dimensional approach at both regional and global level is required to achieve the SDGs with contributions from all stakeholders. Agriculture encompasses all SDGs, either directly or indirectly. More specifically, SDG indicator 2.4.1. under the zero huger goal (SDG-2), refers to the proportion of land under productive and sustainable agriculture, which supports three dimensions of sustainable production: environmental, economic and social. New generation agriculture systems must be more productive and less wasteful. Growing scarcity of good quality soil and water poses challenge in improving yields with minimum environmental footprints. Conservation agriculture (CA) with its three basic principles of minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation could be a viable option for meeting the targets of SDGs. The present review will focus on the contribution of CA towards achieving the SDGs. It discusses the important strategies for achieving this over an Indian context. Top Key words: Agriculture, food security, zero hunger, sustainable intensification. Top |