FAI-IZA SymposiumZinc in Crops and Human Health in Jharkhand

The Fertiliser Association ofIndia (FAI) in collaboration

with the International ZincAssociation (IZA) organised oneday Symposium on "Zinc in Cropsand Human Health in [harkhand"on March 3, 2012 at the RadissonBlu Hotel, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Mr.Arun Kumar Singh, IAS, Secretary(Agriculture), Government ofJharkhand, inaugurated theSymposium. Dr. M.P. Pandey, ViceChancellor, Birsa AgriculturalUniversity, Ranchi was the Guestof Honour, Dr. A.K. Sarkar, Dean(Agriculture), Birsa AgriculturalUniversity, Ranchi delivered theKeynote Address. The SpecialAddress was delivered by Mr. JobZachariah, Chief, UNICEF StateOffice for [harkhand, Ranchi andDr. Andrew Green, Director-ZNI,Environment, Health &Sustainability, IZA, Durham, Ne,USA delivered the OpeningAddress to the participants. TheSymposium was attended byabout 140 participantsrepresenting Department ofAgriculture and Department ofHealth & Family Welfare,Government of Jharkhand, BirsaAgricultural University, UNICEF,ICAR & KVKs, Fertiliser Industryand NGOs.

In his inaugural address, Mr. ArunKumar Singh, IAS, Secretary(Agriculture), Government ofJharkhand appreciated the effortsof FAI and IZA in organizing theSymposium in the state ofJharkhand on 'Zinc in Crops andHuman Health'. He informed thatthe state had witnessed a recordfoodgrain production in thecurrent year with 51 lakh tonnesof paddy which was a record initself. This has been possible due tothe hard labour and continuousefforts by the farmers in Jharkhand.He congratulated FAI and theFertiliser Industry for

Mr. Arun Kumar Singh, Secretary (Agriculture), Government of Jharkhand inauguratingthe Symposium by lighting the lamp. Also seen in the photo are (L to R): Mr. Y.v.N.Murthy, Dr. R.K. Tewatia, Dr. Andrew Green, Mr. Job Zachariah, Dr. Soumitra Das andDr. A.K. Sarkar

participating in agricultureoperations and supply fertiliserswhich increased productivity from20 to 30 q/ha. Fertiliserconsumption increased from 54 to104 kg/ha. He underlined the needto carry on to increasingproductivity.

Sh Singh further mentioned thatmost of the area of 17lakhs hectaresunder rice cultivation in Jharkhandwas having zinc deficiency, whichwas affecting the crop productionand impacting the human health.Zinc deficiency was responsible

~for approximately 16% of

Dr. M.P. Pandey, Vice Chancellor, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi delivering theaddress to the participants

Indian Journal of Fertilisers, April 2012

Technical Session - I, chaired by Dr. Andrew Green (Centre). Also seen inthe photo are (L to R): Dr. Ajit Kumar Prasad, Dr. B.K. Agarwal, Dr. R.P. Singh andDr. Soumitra Das

respiratory infections. An increaseof 30 - 35 in crop productivity hasbeen reported with zincapplication. He emphasised theneed of improving availability ofzinc sulphate fertiliser. Hehighlighted the importance of soiltesting services to be provided inthe state through Public-Private-Partnership, for which thefertiliser companies have to comeforward. He appealed the FAI andIZA to make a joint move alongwith the Govt of Jharkhand inaddressing the challenges of zincdeficiency in the state so thatfarmers can harvest the richbenefits of it.

Earlier, Dr. M.P. Paridey, ViceChancellor, Birsa AgriculturalUniversity, Ranchi, in his address,mentioned that zinc was veryimportant nutrient for plantgrowth. About 31% soils inJharkhand were deficient in zinc.He advocated that zinc should beapplied to both crops in rice-wheatrotation to get optimum yield andaddress the problem ofmalnutrition in the state. DrPandey congratulated the FAI andIZA for their efforts in organizingthe Symposium on the topicaltheme of 'Zinc in Crops and HumanHealth in [harkhand'.

Sarkar, Dean (Agriculture), BirsaAgricultural University, Ranchi,reiterated that zinc was essentialfor plants as well as human health.Various diseases have beenreported due to zinc deficiency. Heobserved that zinc should beincluded in balanced fertiliser usealong with N, P & K. He restatedthat 31 % of the soils in the state,dominated by acid soils, weredeficient in zinc. Dr. Sarkarinformed that cereal grains do notcontain more than 25 ppm zinc,resulting in deficiency of zinc tnhumans. He emphasised thatregular monitoring of zincdeficiency in soils by using GIS wasthe need of the hour. Time has cometo maintain zinc level in plant byvarious ways. Lot of awareness

need to be created among thefarmers about increasing need ofzinc in improving crop yield andhuman health.

Mr. Job Zachariah, Chief, UNICEFState Office for [harkhand, Ranchi,in his Special Address, mentionedthat zinc was essential for humannutrition. About 40% of childrenare suffering from Diarrhoea,Pneumonia and malnutritionproblems due to zinc deficiency inJharkhand. He showed his concernthat the awareness level ofmicronutrient deficiency,including zinc deficiency was ,verypoor in the state. He stated thebenefit of food fortification withzinc and also highlighted theimportance of zinc bio-fortification.

Dr. Andrew Green, Director - ZincNutrient Initiative andEnvironment, Health &Sustainability, IZA, Durham, NC,USA, in his Opening Address,mentioned that zinc deficiency wasa global issue both in crops andhuman health. About l/3rd of globalpopulation is deficient in zinc and8 lakh people die due to zincdeficiency every year. Briefingabout IZA and the activities of theZinc Nutrient Initiative in differentcountries like India, China andBrazil, he mentioned that zinc hademerged as the most widespreadmicronutrient deficiency in soilsand crops worldwide, resulting insevere yield losses anddeterioration in nutritional

,FL-1l FAI-IZA SYMPOSIZinc in Crops and Human He

in Jharkhand

Technical Session (L-R) - Dr. R.K. Tetoaiia, Mr. Rajendra Pal, Dr. A.K. Sarkar andIn his Keynote Address, Dr. A.K. Mr. ].S. Chaudhary

Indian Journal of Fertilisers, April 2012 119

Dr. Andrew Green, Director delivering the concluding remarksquality. He stated that theinitiative had been launched inIndia to address the zinc deficiencyin soils, crops and humans throughincreased use of zinc fertilisers.He further mentioned that about50% of Indian soils were deficientin zinc which was impacting thecrop productivity and affectingthe human health adversely. Ifthis trend continues, the countrymay land up into wider zincdeficiency, to 63% or even moreby the year 2025. Therefore,concerted efforts by all concernedshould be made to address theglobal issue.

Earlier, Dr. R.K. Tewatia, Chief(Agricultural Sciences), FAI, NewDelhi welcomed the Chief Guest,dignitaries, invitees, andparticipants. He mentioned thatZinc deficiency was most acuteamong micro nutrients. About 50%of soil samples have been founddeficient in zinc. The deficiencyof zinc has emerged as one of themajor concerns for crops as wellas human health. It is high timeto recognise the importance ofzinc and create awareness aboutthe increasing need of zinc toimprove crop productivity andhuman health. It was in thiscontext that FAI and IZA wereorganizing the Symposium on"Zinc in Crops and Human Healthin Jharkhand". He was happy to

mention that it was the 1st statelevel programme of 2012, 2nd in thenorthern region and 5th in thecountry.

At the end of the inaugural session,Dr. Soumitra Das, Director - IndiaProgramme, Zinc NutrientInitiative, IZA, New Delhi,proposed a vote of thanks.

The Technical Session - I on 'Zincin Crops and Human Health' waschaired by Dr. Andrew Green,Director - Zinc Nutrient Initiativeand Environment, Health &Sustainability, IZA, USA. Fourpapers were presented in thissession, namely "Zinc NutrientInitiative of IZA - An Overview"by Dr Soumitra Das, Director -India Programme (ZNI), IZA, NewDelhi; "Zinc in Human Health" byDr. Ajit Kumar Prasad, Director(Health), Department of Health &Family Welfare, Govt of Jharkhand,Ranchi; "Status of Zinc in Soils ofJharkhand" by Dr. B.K. Agarwal,Associate Professor, Department ofSoil Science & AgriculturalChemistry, BAU, Ranchi and "CropResponses to Zinc in Jharkhand"by Dr. R.P. Singh, Chairman &University Professor, Departmentof Soil Science & AgriculturalChemistry, BAU, Ranchi.

The Technical Session - 11, PanelDiscussion on 'Policy Initiatives to

Encourage Zinc Use in [harkhand'was chaired by Dr. A. K. Sarkar,Dean (Agriculture), BirsaAgricultural University, Ranchi. Inall, four pane lists presented theirviews in the Panel Discussion.Mr. Pravin Kumar Gupta, JointDirector (Agriculture Statistics),Directorate of Statistics &Evaluation, Govt of Jharkhand,Ranchi presented on "Departmentof Agriculture Initiatives". Mr. J.S.Chaudhary, Director (SAMETI),Govt of Iharkharid, Ranchipresented on "Department ofAgriculture (SAMETI) Initiatives".Dr. R.K. Tewatia, Chief(Agricultural Sciences), FAI, NewDelhi and Mr. Rajendra Pal, StateMarketing Manager, IFFCO, Ranchipresented on "Fertiliser IndustryInitiatives" .

Dr. Andrew Green, Director - ZincNutrient Initiative andEnvironment, Health &Sustainability, IZA, USA wasfelicitated by presenting a Plaqueby Mr. J.S. Chaudhary, Director(SAMETI) on behalf of theDepartment of Agriculture, Govtof Jharkhand, Ranchi for his visitto the state. In the ConcludingSession, Dr. Andrew Greendelivered the concluding remarks.The programme ended with a voteof thanks proposed by Dr. R.K.Tewatia, Chief (AgriculturalSciences), FAI, New Delhi .•

Indian Journal of Fertilisers, April 2012