<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka’s food security in the coming decades would depend on a shift towards climate-resilient crops, digital advisory systems and farmer collectives, experts said at the 'DH Bengaluru 2040 – Agri Innovation Summit' on Thursday.</p>.<p>Speakers warned that agricultural water availability could fall to less than half of total use by 2040 as domestic and industrial demand rises.</p>.<p>With the state already among the country’s most drought-prone, they said farming systems must adapt quickly to rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and labour shortages.</p>.<p>Opening the discussion, Dr M S Sheshshayee, professor and emeritus professor, university of agricultural sciences, Bengaluru, highlighted the dual threat of resource depletion and climatic fluctuations.</p>.<p>"We are seeing a reproductive failure in crops due to high night-time temperatures," he warned.</p>.Bengaluru must transform from IT hub to Agri-Tech capital: CM Siddaramaiah .<p>A significant portion of the discussion focused on rice, a water-guzzling staple.</p>.<p>Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, CEO of Bayer CropScience Ltd, said India could maintain its rice output on half the current land area while slashing water use by 40%. </p>.<p>"Direct Seeded Rice is a game-changer," Wiebusch said. "It reduces methane emissions which are 20 times more potent than CO2 by 70%. It’s also about labour savings and better yields for farmer." </p>.<p>He highlighted that India’s 140 million farmers own, on average just one hectare of land.</p>.<p>"We need to start from the assumption that atomized land ownership is here to stay," Wiebusch noted, emphasising that the only viable solution was the coming together of these farmers through farmer producer organizations (FPOs).</p>.<p>Puthra G T, director of the department of agriculture, Karnataka, echoed this, saying over 80% of the state’s farmers were small and marginal with limited bargaining power.</p>.<p>He detailed the state’s push for FPOs, moving beyond financial incentives to training them in branding, packaging and marketing. </p>.<p>"The state is now working on a system that combines farmer data with weather patterns, market trends, soil fertility and pest monitoring. This helps provide tailor-made advisories to farmers on the helpline," he said.</p>.<p>Rashmit Singh Sukhmani, founder of SatSure, explained how satellite data was evolving from simple imagery into a digital dictionary of the earth.</p>.<p>By combining satellite earth observation with ground-level AI sensors, SatSure was helping prevent crop risks, he said.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka’s food security in the coming decades would depend on a shift towards climate-resilient crops, digital advisory systems and farmer collectives, experts said at the 'DH Bengaluru 2040 – Agri Innovation Summit' on Thursday.</p>.<p>Speakers warned that agricultural water availability could fall to less than half of total use by 2040 as domestic and industrial demand rises.</p>.<p>With the state already among the country’s most drought-prone, they said farming systems must adapt quickly to rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and labour shortages.</p>.<p>Opening the discussion, Dr M S Sheshshayee, professor and emeritus professor, university of agricultural sciences, Bengaluru, highlighted the dual threat of resource depletion and climatic fluctuations.</p>.<p>"We are seeing a reproductive failure in crops due to high night-time temperatures," he warned.</p>.Bengaluru must transform from IT hub to Agri-Tech capital: CM Siddaramaiah .<p>A significant portion of the discussion focused on rice, a water-guzzling staple.</p>.<p>Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, CEO of Bayer CropScience Ltd, said India could maintain its rice output on half the current land area while slashing water use by 40%. </p>.<p>"Direct Seeded Rice is a game-changer," Wiebusch said. "It reduces methane emissions which are 20 times more potent than CO2 by 70%. It’s also about labour savings and better yields for farmer." </p>.<p>He highlighted that India’s 140 million farmers own, on average just one hectare of land.</p>.<p>"We need to start from the assumption that atomized land ownership is here to stay," Wiebusch noted, emphasising that the only viable solution was the coming together of these farmers through farmer producer organizations (FPOs).</p>.<p>Puthra G T, director of the department of agriculture, Karnataka, echoed this, saying over 80% of the state’s farmers were small and marginal with limited bargaining power.</p>.<p>He detailed the state’s push for FPOs, moving beyond financial incentives to training them in branding, packaging and marketing. </p>.<p>"The state is now working on a system that combines farmer data with weather patterns, market trends, soil fertility and pest monitoring. This helps provide tailor-made advisories to farmers on the helpline," he said.</p>.<p>Rashmit Singh Sukhmani, founder of SatSure, explained how satellite data was evolving from simple imagery into a digital dictionary of the earth.</p>.<p>By combining satellite earth observation with ground-level AI sensors, SatSure was helping prevent crop risks, he said.</p>
