International Conference on "Building Smallholder Climate Resilience for Achieving Sustainable Food Systems"
The Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), organized an International Conference on "Building Smallholder Climate Resilience for Achieving Sustainable Food Systems" from September 17th to 19th, 2024, at OUAT, Bhubaneswar, under the RESILIENCE Project. The conference was inaugurated by Ms. May-Elin Stener, Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Norway to India, as the Chief Guest. Prof. P. K. Roul, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of OUAT, presided over the conference. Dr. Ivar H. Kristensen, Director General of NIBIO, Dr. Udaya S. Nagothu, Director (Centre for International Development), NIBIO, and Dr. Thomas N. Bwana, Director General of the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Tanzania, Dr. M. Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi addressed in the conference.
On this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between OUAT and NIBIO, Norway, for the next five years to upscale innovative, evidence-based, sustainable, and climate-resilient rice and relevant agricultural technologies in climate-vulnerable districts.
A special session for RESILIENCE project was organized under the chairmanship of Dr. A. K. Nayak, Director of ICAR-NRRI. The session was co-chaired by Dr. U. S. Nagothu, Director (Centre for International Development), NIBIO, Norway. Scientists from all the project partners (NIBIO, OUAT, AAU, and MSSRF) presented the key research findings and achievements of the climate-smart agricultural technologies implemented at the project sites over the last six years. Dr. Bilaro, Principal scientist from TARI, Tanzania also shared their interventions and future plans to ensure farmers’ resilience to climate change in Tanzania.
The conference was attended by around a thousand participants, including teams of scientists from NIBIO, Norway, TARI, Tanzania, ICAR and CGIAR institutions, as well as various State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) across India, along with farmers and research scholars. The conference provided a platform to discuss issues and challenges related to climate change and to share experiences and knowledge on appropriate solutions for building climate-resilient production systems.
This project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway/ the Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi