IRRI Pioneer interviews--Keeping rice farming sustainable in India: E.A. Siddiq

The legendary Ebrahimali Abubacker Siddiq, 78, began his long and enduring rice research career in 1968 as a cytogeneticist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI; http://www.iari.res.in) in New Delhi, including 7 years there as a senior scientist. In 1983-86, he was as a breeder in Egypt for the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org). Returning to IARI, he was appointed professor of genetics (1986-87). In late 1987, he became project director at the Directorate of Rice Research (1987-94). He assumed the position of deputy director general (crop science) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (1994-97). During a time of transition for IRRI, he served as a member of the Institute’s Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2005. This clip features a segment from his IRRI Pioneer Interview in which he discusses the importance of keeping rice farming sustainable in India. "So, the big challenge, I personally feel, is to aim our technologies and our policy decisions to sustaining the farmers in rice farming. They should be able to feel that their livelihood is quite secure. Today, many farmers do not want to see their sons becoming farmers. They want them to take jobs in the cities. A recent survey across India showed that 60% of the farmers don’t find farming attractive. They feel they are losers and they want to migrate to the urban areas. So all of our policies and all of our technologies should be pro-farmer. if you cannot sustain the farmer, you cannot sustain agriculture."