World Sustainable Development Summit and sustainable agriculture

11-13 February 2019. New Delhi, Delhi, India. World Sustainable Development Summit. This
summit aimed to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

WSDS 2019 focused on the theme, 'Attaining the 2030 Agenda: Delivering on our Promise'. The “mega themes” to be addressed during the event are clean oceans, climate finance, energy transitions, mobility and sustainable agriculture.

"There is a need to make use of the endless possibilities of biotechnology and nanotechnology to develop a range of green products, including nano-fertilisers. We should move towards more efficient systems of irrigation with 'more crop per drop' as our mantra. Greater thrust has to be placed on organic farming and on the use of natural means of pest control. Sustainable development is inclusive development which includes sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility solutions, urbanization, energy security and clean energy, waste management and efforts in wildlife conservation." Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu

Ms Rhea Suh and Mr Suman Bery, Senior Fellow, Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth delve into the intricacies of action against climate change, and discuss the need for an integrated effort by India and the United States to combat this menace.

Extract of the programme:

Commemorating The UN Decade of Family Farming: Striving for Local Sustainability at the Global Level
The role of the private sector in forging partnerships as a way forward found focus in the panel discussion. Panellists felt there is a need to leverage investments from the private sector and bring down the risk barrier, given that small farmers are seen as risky investment.

Showcasing agriculture as a lucrative investment sector would also bring about social inclusion for farmers to further pare the risk. The private sector can potentially galvanise family farming, not just through investment, but by fostering innovation, expertise, and technology. The panel concluded the session by identifying inclusive rural development and economic transformation as the need of the hour to achieve some of our sustainable development goals.

• Chair: Dr P K Basu, Former Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, India
  Mr Basu talked about family farming from the perspective of food security. In India and other Asian countries, most of the food production is done by small producers. Mr Basu said that even though we have made large strides in scientific knowledge in agriculture, it does not percolate to small producers. The issue stems from the fact that this segment of the population, for whom the policy has been made, is not part of the policy making process, thus creating a chasm.
• Dr Alok Adholeya, Senior Fellow and Senior Director, Sustainable Agriculture Division, TERIDr Adholeya's career has been largely devoted to finding and developing ways to harness the power of microbes, particularly mycorrhizae, to increase the productivity of crop plants and to restore degraded and industrial overburden lands. Currently, he chairs a major Task Force on Biological Agents in the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India
• Dr Hemant Kumar Badola, Advisor (Biodiversity, Climate Change, GTT facilitator), Chief Minister's Office, Government of Sikkim, India
• Mr Edward Millard, Director – Landscapes and Communities, Rainforest Alliance
• Mr Ashwani K Muthoo, Director, Global Engagement and Multilateral Relations Division, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)
• Mr Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President, Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), Japan

‘In-Conversation’ 

• Speaker: Ms Rhea Suh, President, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
• Chair: Mr Suman Bery, Senior Fellow, Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth and Former Chief Economist, Shell International Limited

India-EU Water Forum Inaugural 

• Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI 
• Mr Raimund Magis, Charge de Affairs, Delegation of the European Union to India 
• Mr Wolfram Klein, Head of South Asia Division, German BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 
• Mr Akhil Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India 
• Mr Rajiv Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) 
• Mr Arjun Ram Meghwal, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India