College of Agriculture > Entomology & Plant Pathology > Asian PGPR > Meetings

Second Asian PGPR Conference

August 21st-24th, 2011 - Beijing, China
General Information

Agriculture and other natural resource-based enterprises are the foundation for economic growth in many Asian countries. Of the 11 percent of the world's land surface that is suitable for agriculture, 38 percent has been degraded due to poor natural resource management practices. With no significant room to expand areas of cultivation, a good management of the available land is necessary to maintain agricultural productivity, ensure economic growth, protect biodiversity, and meet the increasing food demands of a growing global population.

Sustainable agriculture integrates environmental health, economic viability and social equity to ensure long-term productivity of natural resources and improved livelihoods. It helps reduce the risks in developing countries of complex problems like climate variability and climate change.

Conventional agriculture which involves high-yielding plants, mechanized tillage, inorganic fertilizers and biocides is so detrimental to the environment. For instance, fertilizer run-off from conventional agriculture is the chief culprit in creating dead zones with low oxygen areas where marine life cannot survive.

The challenge of enhancing productivity while maintaining environmental soundness calls for educating farmers; emphasizing the long-term consequences of their traditional methods of agriculture; and helping them develop and implement innovative, appropriate farming practices.

Excessive and inappropriate use of agrochemicals has undeniably resulted in negative and sometimes irreparable to the environment. Once fertile soils have become acidic due to heavy chemical fertilizer application. In the same way, reliance on chemical pesticides to manage pest problems has aggravated environmental ruins.

It is in this context that bio-alternatives or bio-agents, such as bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides, (PGPR) are considered as viable options. Scientists across the world have been researching on suitable and effective PGPR's as among the strategies to raising crop productivity levels. In Asian countries, PGPR technologies are now at various stages of development and utilization. For successful sustainable agriculture, basic, applied and strategic research must focus on the identification of potential PGPR screening, characterization and cataloguing the strains for their desirable traits; enhancement of potential and understanding the mechanism of action of these PGPR to harness their optimum potential. Thrust also must be laid on development of cheap and viable mass multiplication protocols; identify suitable carrier systems; develop methods for prolonged shelf-life; work out the economics to demonstrate the usefulness of the PGPR; develop effective communication methods to disseminate the technology among the end-users to get feed-back and refine technology. To bridge these gaps, strategies should be thought of by forming consortia to work in a collaborative mode and build new partnerships. Also concerted approach among various stakeholders is required on research and development aspects and positive policy interventions to promote these inputs.

Last Updated: March 22, 2012