Speaking at the function Kalam said agricultural growth had stagnated, even as industrial and service sectors were growing at 12 and 18 per cent respectively. “While the number of people engaged in agriculture and land under farming will reduce considerably, the required food production would double to almost 350 million tones by 2020. The Finance Ministry has doubled the agricultural credit by banks to Rs 2 lakh crore, but it has not touched the life of needy farmers,” expressed Kalam, while delivering his lecture on ‘Research missions for insurance business’.

The President called for research on methods that banks and insurance companies could employ to mitigate rural problems. “During my interaction with farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Tanjore, it came out that the sons and daughters of farmers are leaving the agricultural sector. Through research, institutes like NIA can come up with solutions like institution of a successful cooperative society model on the lines of dairy products in Anand or the Maharashtra Sugar industry, and also value-added products in agriculture,” the President said while addressing students.

According to Kalam, the research challenges for the second green revolution include determining the quality of soil, matching the soil to the seed water management, fertilizer management and pre-and-post harvest management. He also suggested that NIA syllabus for its management programmes should focus on realising integrated agriculture produce and management from food and marketing, including financing and risk cover.

Outlining his vision for the institute, Kalam said that with the entry of private players in the insurance market, NIA could create a simulation model of the whole insurance business taking the competitive environment into account.

Urging students to venture into rural areas, Kalam advised them not to be commanded by difficulties, rather to lead and overcome them.