A press conference was organized to raise awareness of the rice production constraints in Tamil Nadu such as water and labor shortage and some possible mitigation strategies such as use of water- and labor-saving technologies. The panel discussants were V. Ravi, director of Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute; R. Rajendran, head of Coconut Research Station in Vepankulam; Noel P. Magor, head of the Impact Acceleration Unit and Training at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); and R. Ganeshmoorthy, hub manager of the CSISA project in Tamil Nadu.
Dr. Magor talked about the partnership between India and IRRI, which has been going on for four decades, and the importance of building the capacity of extension workers and rice researchers. Mr. Ganeshamoorthy presented an overview of the CSISA project—its vision, goals, and activities, while Dr. Rajendran and Dr. Ravi shared the agriculture scenario in Tamil Nadu and introduced the labor- and water-saving technologies that could help improve the lives of the farmers and increase the production in the state.
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