NATURE'S BOUNTY

Mother earth’s beneficence has given us so much, trees, foliage, flowers, fruits from seemingly small seeds or shoots from older plants! How are such huge trees, forests, crops made possible from tiny seeds or roots or shoots?

- MS. NOVEL LAVASA

The earth uses up the ambient elements in the air and the minerals from the soil to produce all the greenery, shade, food, beauty, building material, etc., there can be a long infinite list of use humans and animals derive from growth from Mother Nature.

Growing demands and food choices

Some statistics say the world is projected to hold a whopping 9.6 billion people by 2050. Figuring out how to feed all these people along with fulfilling their need of clothing and shelter, and doing it sustainably through inclusive and rural development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting valuable ecosystems—is one of the greatest challenges of our era.

The Sustainable Development Goals (or SDG’s) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030 is a collection of 17 global goals, of which several are relevant for our purpose:

No poverty; Zero hunger; Good health and well-being; Clean water and sanitation; Affordable and clean energy; Responsible consumption and production; Climate action; Life underwater; Life on land.

To fulfil these Goals research, innovation, and global knowledge sharing along with trade has enabled methods to hasten the growth and productivity of crops through chemical fertilisers, growth hormones and tackling unfriendly pests through pesticides. During the Green Revolution in the 1960s and 70s, India adopted High Yielding Variety (HYV) of crops to ensure food security to its burgeoning population. In the 21st century, India is striving to progress from a calorie based diet to a nutrient-based diet as awareness of malnutrition causes come to light. There has been a push towards horticulture and high yield and productivity research, extension work and incentives.

Hi-tech horticulture