Srinagar: Climate change and food security expert, Kansas State University (USA) professor Dr PV Vara Prasad, delivered a special lecture at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura campus on Wednesday.
Dr Prasad, distinguished professor of crop ecophysiology and Director of Feed at the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (Agronomy Department), Kansas State University, USA, travelled to J&K to deliver the special lecture at SKUAST-K on ‘Impact of Climate Change Factors on Crops & Opportunities to Enhance Resilience of Agri-food Systems’.
The lecture was organised by the university’s Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura under World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) for the institutional development of SKUAST-K.
In his lecture, Prof Prasad discussed the consequences of climatic changes on the environment and food production. He focused on understanding the responses of food grain crops to changing environments (temperature, water and climate change factors), screening germplasm collections for tolerance to abiotic stresses, determining the physiological basis of tolerance and developing crops soil, water and nutrient management strategies for efficient use of resources.
“Although modification of climatic conditions is triggered by natural factors but the intervention of humans accelerated this process,” he said, adding, “Therefore, the focus should be on sustainable agriculture, which is not at the cost of destruction of the natural environment. Better understanding the interactions between various climate change factors on nutritional composition is needed to address nutritional security.”
He said the interaction of climate change factors with biotic pests, for example, diseases, insects and weeds, and the host plant susceptibility is essential to quantify the overall impact on crop productivity.
To address these multiple challenges of food, nutrition and climate security, the focus should be on systematic approaches such as sustainable agricultural intensification, climate-smart agriculture, broader one-health, and using principles of circularity. This will require a stronger, meaningful and targeted dialogue and collaboration between multiple disciplines and convergence of sciences which includes both biophysical and social sciences.
Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Prof Raihana Habib Kanth, presented the welcome address. Dr Parvaiz A Sofi introduced the guest speaker and his research.
Many students, faculty members and SKUAST-K scientists and officers attended the lecture.

KR Desk