New Delhi, Feb 4 : Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today urged the agricultural scientists to introduce innovative technologies.

Speaking at a function on World Congress on Agriculture Conservation here, Pawar said that the slowdown in agriculture sector adversely affected the farmers in all countries, more in poverty ridden countries. However its impact in India is minimal.

He identified enhancement of agricultural production and farm income as the major global challenges in this area.

He said that agriculture accounts for 18 percent of the GDP and supports nearly 58 per cent of the total work force. Food production in the country has increased to around
230 million tonnes this financial year from the 50 million tonnes of 1951.

The conservation of agriculture is an immediate concern and called for putting all practices in place to achieve this objective," he added.

Dwelling on the multiple advantages of conservation farming, the Minister said that this procedure leads to better soil properties, improves infiltration and water use efficiency, higher yields and an alternative eco-friendly utilization of residues in place of burning.

"It is evident that modern resource conservation technologies are cost-effective, improve natural resource use efficiency and have significant environmental benefits, especially, with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of increasing water productivity, these new resource conservation technologies can make significant contributions," he added. (ANI)