India committed to fulfil SDG goal of ending hunger: Minister at BRICS meet

India has expressed its commitment to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending hunger and step up production and productivity of agriculture through sustainable use of natural resources, the government said on Thursday.

Minister of state for agriculture Shobha Karandlaje said this at the virtual meeting of the BRICS Agriculture Ministers held on Wednesday evening. The meeting was attended by agriculture ministers of China, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and India.

In the meeting, Karandlaje highlighted various steps and initiatives undertaken by the government in the field of agriculture and for the welfare of the farmers. She also mentioned the recent initiatives taken for increasing the use of digital technologies in agriculture like Agri-stack and India Digital Ecosystem for Agriculture (IDEA).

The minister also ”emphasized India’s resolve to fulfill the SDGs of ending hunger and step up production and productivity of agriculture through sustainable use of natural resources,” an official statement said.

Karandlaje also called for support and celebration of the International Year of Millets, 2023 by the BRICS nations, while sharing the importance of millets in food and nutrition security and climate resilience.

A joint declaration with the theme ‘Strengthening BRICS Cooperation for Coordinated Agricultural and Rural Development as well as the BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation was adopted in the meeting, the statement added.