Brainstorming Session on “Har Med Par Ped” organized

26th April, 2021, Jhansi

The ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh organized a Virtual Brainstorming Session on “Har Med Par Ped” to discuss the constraints and challenges of growing trees on the farm bunds and boundaries today.

In his address, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) stressed on the choice of species to be grown on bunds and boundaries in the different agro-climatic regions of the country. He emphasized on the need to keep the productivity attributes, environmental services and the socio-economic imperatives of tree growing on farmlands in mind.

Underlining the importance of tree plantation, Dr. Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), ICAR accentuated on up-scaling of success stories in this regard.

Dr. A. Arunachalam, Director, ICAR-CAFRI, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh outlined the scope of the discussion by narrating that about 17 lakh trees are cut in the country every year against planting of 2.6 Million trees, most of them in lands outside the forest governance.

The variable size and nature of bunds in farm landscape, land tenure and ownership issues on bunds,

Agro-ecological choice and management of trees on bunds and boundaries and the availability of quality planting material were some of the constraints that were identified during the session.

The experts opined to observe 28th June as the nation-wide Tree Plantation Day whereby every citizen is encouraged to plant atleast one tree a year.

The leading scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and its Constituent Research Institutes, Faculties / Scientists associated with ICAR’s All India Coordinated Research Project on Agro-forestry in the State Agricultural Universities and ICFRE Institutes, representatives from the State Forest Department, Industry and Progressive Farmers also participated in the session.

(Source: ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh)