Secondary Agriculture: Sustainability and Livelihood in India

This book on ’Secondary Agriculture’ discusses the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes. The term ’secondary’ has a bearing on climate change adaptation and its mitigation, small farm viability and profitability, food security, nutrition, sustainable utilization of natural resources, and optimal usage of produce from primary agriculture and farm incomes. Promoting secondary agriculture has implications on attaining sustainable development goals, which aim to connect primary, secondary and tertiary sectors by using slack/idle factors of production, such as land and labour, contributing to primary agriculture production, capturing ’value’ in primary agricultural activities, and generating additional income at the enterprise level.

In context to same, the chapters of this book have been designed to promote secondary agriculture through low-cost skills and technology applications in agriculture and by upscaling knowledge via integrating primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of agriculture. The motivation behind this book is to address the challenges of biotic and abiotic stresses facing the farming community; to increase farmers income through low-cost skills and technology applications in agriculture; to upscale knowledge by integrating primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of agriculture.

The food processing sector in India is still in a nascent stage with only 8 per cent of the produce being processed as against 80-98 per cent in case of high-income countries (Government of India, 2008, 2010). The food processing sector is now receiving the boost with the annual growth of 13.2 per cent in registered food processing units during 2004-10 (Government of India, 2011). Against this backdrop, there is a strong need to strategically handle the situation in order to facilitate a self-sustainable and long-run growth of the sector, which is felt possible by focusing on Secondary Agriculture. Though not a panacea for all ailments of the primary sector, but it can definitely drive the growth.

Dr. S. Sheraz Mahdi is currently working as an Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist (Agronomy) at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar, Srinagar, Kashmir (J&K), India with specialization in crop-climate modeling, climate change and cereal crops production. Before this, he has served the Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar in the capacity of Assistant Professor, Agronomy for five years (2013-2017) and has been a member of natural resource management research advisory group of the University and state committee on climate change studies. He has worked on climatology of extreme weather events and their impact on rice-wheat cropping system in Bihar. Dr. Mahdi has also worked as a Research Associate at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Srinagar, Kashmir. He took his PhD (Agronomy) degree from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) and is the recipient of the Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, Government of India. Dr. Mahdi has been also an independent researcher in the cold arid region of Kargil Ladkh (Jammu and Kashmir), India, and has guided 06 post-graduate and 05 under graduate students. He has published more than 45 research papers, 12 books and some popular articles, covering some aspects of advanced agronomy in particular.

Dr. Fayaz Ahmed Bahar, Associate Professor cum Senior Scientist Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir has done his B. Sc. Agri. & Ph D Agronomy from SKUAST-Kashmir and M. Sc. Agronomy from GBPUA&T, Pantanagar, Uttrakhand India. He has worked on different aspects of weed management of rice and maize during his M. Sc. and Ph. D. programmes. He has also worked as principal investigator in AICRP-Maize and AICRP-MULLaRP programmes, and has number of national and international publications besides book chapters and manuals in his credit. The scientist has also acted as principal investigator in different university and externally funded projects and was also associated with the release of number of varieties of different field crops at state and national levels. Dr. Bahar has worked under cold arid zone of High Mountain Arid Agriculture Research Institute (HMAARI), Leh Ladakh and carried out series of field experiments on field crops under cold arid climate. He is actively involved in research, extension and teaching activities at UG and PG levels and is guiding number of students in pursuing their M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes. He has also worked as visiting scientist in Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore and Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), Ludhiana under Indian National Science Academy of India. His work was widely appreciated at different levels by the competent authorities.

Dr. Mohammad Anwar Bhat is currently working as Professor and Head Division of Agronomy at Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar, Srinagar, (Jammu & Kashmir), India with specialization in Crop-Production and Weed management. Prior to this, he has served as Principal Investigator AICRP-Rice (2006-2016) and has been a member of natural resource management research advisory group, Academic and Extension Council of the University and state expert on agriculture for National Kissan Call Centre. He has worked on Resource conservation, yield maximization besides crop and weed management particularly in rice and has been associated with the team for development of new high yielding varieties of rice and brown sarson in addition to Revival Programme of land races Mushkbudji and Kamad the Heritage of Kashmir in scented rice. Dr. Anwar has pursued his PhD (Agronomy) degree from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and Masters and Bachelors degrees from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir and is recipient of the SKUAST-Gold Medal. Dr. Anwar is presently leading the research and academics of the Division of Agronomy at Faculty of Agriculture besides being an independent researcher and has published 96 research papers in Peer reviewed reputed National and International Journals, edited 5 books, 16 book chapters covering few aspects of advanced agronomy like food and nutritional security. He has successfully guided 10 Ph.D., 16 Masters and 12 under-graduate students mostly well settled now.