Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India: The two-day workshop came up with key conclusions for the promotion of bio-pesticides and stimulants for pest and disease control, the necessity of an integrated approach to manage abiotic and biotic stresses, and the need to put more efforts on multiple stress tolerant varieties.

It underlined the importance of addressing climate change in stress management, and the imperative for capacity building and policy issues and the use of AI and machine learning tools in biotic stress management.

The valedictory function was addressed by Dr. P K Ghosh, Director and Vice-Chancellor of ICAR-NIBSM, Prof. Piyush K Pandey, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, Raipur, Dr. Sammi Reddy, Director of NIASM, Raipur on Thursday.

Dr. Panjab Singh, former Director General of ICAR and Secretary DARE, New Delhi chaired the valedictory session. Approximately 250 distinguished scientists, industry partners, and students presented their research findings. Dr. P K Ghosh provided an overview of the conference's proceedings, highlighting sessions, academia-industry interactions. Dr. KK Mandal summarised the proceedings of the two day conference.

Key lectures included Dr. AN Mukhopadhyaya's discussion on the utility of Trichoderma species in pest control, Dr. Ratan Lal's emphasis on soil health's crucial role in plant and human health, and Dr. Deepal Pental's insights into using traditional and genetic engineering tools for plant and food security.

A Special Session on Academia-Industry Interaction provided a platform for industry partners to showcase products and exchange perspectives. A Panel Discussion on novel strategies for mitigating biotic and abiotic stresses featured distinguished speakers sharing their insights, chaired by Dr. Panjab Singh.

All stakeholders including scientists, students, agro-based industries, farm machinery companies, farmer producer organizations, agro-chemical companies, NGOs, agri-drone manufacturers, horticulture firms, and livestock firms got a platform to engage in vibrant discussions and networking opportunities.

The conference was jointly organised by ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stress Management (ICAR-NIBSM), Raipur, Chhattisgarh, ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management (ICAR-NIASM), Baramati, Maharashtra and Amity University, Chhattisgarh, Raipur.

The conference, theme was "Novel Strategies for Mitigating Biotic and Abiotic Stresses for Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability," emphasised on six key themes, covering emerging biotic and abiotic stresses, climate-resilient agriculture, management strategies for both types of stress, and capacity building and policy issues.