Parbhani - Prof. (Dr.) Indra Mani, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University (VNMAU), Parbhani, delivered a keynote address at the International Conference 2026 on “Agricultural Engineering and Climate-Smart Agriculture”, held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 5–6 February 2026.
The international conference was organised by the Nepalese Society of Agricultural Engineers (NSAE) in collaboration with International Development Enterprises (iDE). The event witnessed the participation of renowned scientists, academicians, researchers, education experts, and industry representatives from various Asian countries.
During his keynote address on “Climate-Resilient Agriculture for Food Security”, Prof. (Dr.) Indra Mani highlighted the critical role of climate-resilient technologies, agricultural mechanization, and policy-driven innovations in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. He underlined VNMAU’s significant contributions to the development of climate-resilient crop varieties, advanced agricultural machinery, and sustainable farming practices, particularly beneficial for dryland and semi-arid regions like Marathwada.
Emphasizing the importance of international collaboration, technology transfer, and capacity building, he called for collective global efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture. He also noted that these initiatives align with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020).
The keynote address received an overwhelming response from international delegates. The conference featured several eminent experts, including Syed Ismail, Vice-Chancellor of VNMAU; Menila Kharal, Nepal Country Director of iDE; and Laxmi Prasad Devkota, former member of Nepal’s National Planning Commission.
Technical sessions at the conference covered key themes such as climate-smart agriculture and livestock management, agricultural mechanisation and automation, posts-harvest technologies and food engineering, water conservation and soil engineering, renewable energy, digital advisory services (DAS) and smart rural infrastructure.
The primary objective of the conference was to highlight the contribution of agricultural engineering yowards sustainable agricultural development in the context of climate change, promote research and innovation and strengthen international academic and research collaboration. It was expressed that the conference would further reinforce Inida-Nepal cooperation in agricultural engineering and climate-resilient agriculture.
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