By Dr. Rafiq Islam
SWBR Program Leader
Rafiq Islam, Program leader of the Soil, Water, and Bioenergy Resources at The Ohio State University South Centers, participated virtually in the International Symposium on Food Security and the Stand of Civilization: Agri-Horti-Livestock Dynamics in Changing Global Ecology, jointly organized by Bidhan Chandra Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, India, Lincoln University College, Malaysia, and University of Bengkulu, Indonesia.
The approximate 3,014 participants consisted of faculty members, scientists, professionals, and students, including personnel from several international organizations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other East Asian countries.
Islam delivered a 45-minute keynote PowerPoint presentation entitled “Climate-Smart Agricultural Renaissance and Global Food Security.” In his presentation, he spoke about conventional agricultural practices, population growth, climate change effects (including greenhouse gas emission, global warming, and solar dimming on freshwater resources), soil health and food production and quality, conservation tillage, cover crops, and precision chemigation with new technologies and chemical-inducing (to minimize drought and salinity impacts) as part of climate-smart agriculture.
After the presentation, there was an interactive question and answer session to discuss sustainable agriculture, population growth, and climate change adaptation and mitigation with special reference to food security in Asia.