Dr. Susheel Kumar Singh is currently Assistant Professor at the College of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He obtained his PhD degrees from Faculty of Soil Sciences, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut (UP), India. He did a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Master of Science in Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry from Tilak Dhari Post Graduate College Jaunpur affiliated to Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, UP, India. He was also awarded as Research Fellow through IRRI‐CSISA project during his PhD research program. Dr. Singh primarily works in the field of climate change, and related interdisciplinary fields with wider applications of Information Technology, Remote Sensing, and GIS tools with working experience of more than eight years. His current research interests include conservation agriculture and precision nutrient management studies. Dr. Singh has published several research papers including book chapters, as well as popular articles also.
Dr. S.S. Singh is the Director, Extension Education, Rani Laxmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has served as Director, ICAR – Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kolkata, WB (2017–2020). He was Head of Division, Crop Production at Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, UP (2014–2017) and Head, Crop Research Division at ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar (2009–2014). Dr. Singh has also worked in RWC‐ CIMMYT, India, from 2004 to 2006. Dr. Singh has served RAU Pusa, Bihar, from 1986 to 1998 as Junior Scientist cum Assistant Professor. He is BSc (Ag) from CSAUAT Kanpur and MSc (Ag.) and PhD (Agronomy) from NDUAT, Faizabad, UP, India. Dr. Singh has handled 16 foreign/external funded projects on Natural Resource Management, Crop Management, Livelihood Development and Crop Improvement funded by DFID, IFAD, USAID, BMGF, IRRI, CIMMYT, Ford Foundation, and European Union. As an agronomist, he has contributed to the development of five rice varieties, which have been released by CVRC and Bihar SVRC and are suitable for aerobic drought prone, late direct seeding, contingency cropping, and rainfed lowland conditions. He has also guided and monitored ICAR/DAC extension projects like ARYA, Farmers FIRST, Skill Development, MGMG, TSP, SCSP, CFLD Pulses & Oilseeds, NICRA TDC, DAMU, and Seed Hub program from 2017 to 2020. He has published 115 research papers, 6 books, 20 book chapters, 15 technical bulletins, 135 papers in proceedings/symposium/seminar, 50 popular articles, and 40 extension folders. He has visited USA, UK, Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal. He is recipient of Rajeev Gandhi Gyan Vigyan Award from Ministry of Home Affairs, FAI award, Senior Research Fellowship of ICAR, Excellent Team Research Award of ICAR in Social Science.
Dr. V.K. Singh is currently, Director, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India. Dr. Singh has made valuable contributions in the area of soil fertility appraisal and soil health restoration through site‐specific nutrient management (SSNM) and inclusion of legumes in intensive cropping systems. His effort on soil fertility appraisal using geo‐statistical tools in different agro‐ecologies revealed widespread multinutrient deficiencies. The extensive studies by him at cultivators' fields underlined the significance of SSNM for addressal of multinutrient deficiencies, improving yields, nutrient use efficiency, and profits under different cropping systems. He also explored different options for inclusion of legumes in rice–wheat system (RWS) to reduce subsoil compaction, enhanced organic matter accumulation, and minimized NO3‐N leaching. Dr. Singh has standardized conservation agriculture practices for improving soil health, nutrient and water use efficiency, and net returns. The Integrated Farming Systems models developed by him have great potential to raise the income and employment to small holders. Besides publishing research recognized peer‐reviewed journals, he also published his work in popular language for the advantage of farmers and extension personnel. He possesses an illustrious academic record, with several awards and distinctions, viz. Fellow of NAAS, ISNS, ISA, SEE; NAAS Young Scientist Award, NAAS Associate, PS Deshmukh Young Agronomist Award, UPCAR Young Agricultural Scientist Award, IPNI‐FAI award, FAI Golden Jubilee Award, PPIC‐FAI award, Dr. J.S.P. Yadav Memorial Award of ISSS, Sriram Award, and Dhiru Morarji Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions in the area of efficient agronomic input management research.
Foreword 1
Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University Jhansi, UP, India
Dr. Arvind Kumar Vice‐Chancellor Source: RLB Central Agricultural University
Modern agriculture depends heavily on engineering and technology and on the biological and physical sciences. Agriculture not only contributes to overall growth of the economy but also reduces poverty by providing employment and food security to the majority of the population in the continent, and thus it is the most inclusive growth sectors of the economy. In addition, growth in agriculture significantly influences the growth of nonagriculture sectors, also. Within the agricultural sector, smallholder farmers remain central to agricultural development and continue to play important roles promoting an ecologically rational and socially available food system. The ultimate goal or the ends of sustainable agriculture is to develop farming systems that are productive and profitable, conserve the natural resource base, protect the environment, and enhance health and safety, and to do so over the long‐term. In recent past, satellite technologies available for agricultural applications promise to offer multiple benefits to the growers like estimating the timing of harvest, predicting in‐season yields, understanding water and nutrient status, planning crop nutrition programmes and informing in‐season irrigation, forecasting in diseases and pests, etc. Advances in satellite constellations, payloads, and launch are enabling increased connectivity and observational capability. Coupling these developments with “smarter” computing, data infrastructures, and analytics is increasing the possibilities for the use of satellite technologies for multiple uses in agriculture. While this creates new possibilities for products, services, and decision support, it also requires proper planning to ensure that the latest technology is linked appropriately with production challenges and, therefore, can be used to deliver the gains required to meet the societal, economic, political, and environmental needs.
The compiled text encircles updated information on sustainable agriculture systems and technologies addressing a variety of areas related to food security within context of sustainable practices, crop modeling, irrigation practices, micro‐irrigation, agricultural statistics, agricultural economics, climate change scenario, flood routing, spatial modeling, farmers income, and agricultural policy in the twenty‐first century. This book would serve as a hand book encompassing several scopes of interests on sustainable technologies toward reliable practices and income generation in areas agriculture, livestock, and fishery resources for sustainable agriculture as a whole.
This book would be beneficial for academics, scientists, environmentalists, meteorologists,