Sustainable Agriculture: Experts discuss the urgency amidst soaring global food demand

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Siraj Hussain, Former Agriculture Secretary said, “There has been a realisation in the government and among the policymakers, including Planning Commission in NITI Aayog that sustainability for the agriculture sector is extremely important and therefore the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was launched. However, the intention has not been matched with the allocations and the financial allocations for National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture have remained very low.”

He further added, “One reason is that a lot of money out of the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture now goes towards direct benefit transfer in the form of PMKISAN and fertiliser subsidy and the state governments are providing electricity subsidy. So in effect, we can say that there is very little financial allocation for promoting sustainable agriculture.”

Talking about sustainability in agriculture - it is important to talk about palm oil, which is used in packaged food products, detergents, and cosmetics, among others. When grown unsustainably, palm oil can damage forests, endanger communities and wildlife. During a roundtable on sustainable palm oil in Jakarta, Indonesia, CNBC-TV18 engaged with industry experts to delve into the challenges faced by the palm oil industry in achieving sustainability goals.