President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said India has only three per cent of the world’s land resources and five per cent of water resources, yet, Indian agriculture system supports 18 per cent of the world population.

Addressing the 54th Convocation of Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) here, Mr. Mukherjee said India’s transformation from a state of “ship-to-mouth” to a leading exporter of foodgrains has been made possible largely due to the scientific developments in premier institutes such as the IARI.

He said agricultural education in our country must conform to global standards. For this, there is a need to create a large pool of competent faculty empowered with state-of-the-art research infrastructure.

“A strong network of teachers, learners and practitioners will facilitate lab-to-field dissemination of good agricultural practices. It will also provide feedback about farmers’ problems to trigger research and technology development in our institutions,” he asserted.

Mr. Mukherjee said that agricultural institutes are the foci on which the success of our farm sector and welfare of people depends. “The barometer of performance is the quality of their products,” he said adding that able, committed and industrious professionals from these institutions are required to spearhead the next farm revolution.