SusTech is hosting talks on Sustainability topics leading up to the 2024 conference in April.

“Groundwater as a Rescue for Sustaining Agriculture with Farmer’s Decision”

with Shakeel Ahmed, Visiting Professor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, J&K, India; Former Chief Scientist, CSIR – National Geophysical Research Institute and former Team-Leader, Indo-French Centre for Groundwater Research, Hyderabad, India

Date/Time:

Tuesday, 26-March-2024, 9-10 pm US Eastern, 6-7 pm US Pacific

Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/event/register/407349

Abstract:

Water Resources and Agriculture are closely related and later cannot survive without water as well as their chronology too is important. In the past a well-designed timetable has been set to receive most of the water demand from the rainfall, the unique source of water. However, due to increasing demand as well as modified rainfall due to climate change needs to improve the established timetable. Thus, in addition to the supply of water from the rainfall, supplementary sources are required that are mostly surface water and also groundwater. In India, for example, the rainfall is received during the monsoon and to sustain the agriculture throughout the year, stored water in the form of surface and groundwater is utilized for irrigation.

Due to increasing demand and food security, more areas are applied for agriculture and so the water resources. However, due to Climate Change the groundwater is impacted enormously and knowledge of its recharge processes and the recharge enhancement technologies are important.

A decision support tool (DST-GW) has been developed to equip the farmers with the knowledge of the water resources mainly with groundwater and allow them to take decision on their agriculture either by changing the crops and cropping pattern according to the water availability or go for enhancement of groundwater through artificial recharge. The technique of DST-GW allows farmers to work themselves the crop requirement matching with the groundwater availability and to take the most beneficial decision. The decision taken by the farmers based on the water availability knowledge guarantees its implementation for crop security and agricultural sustainability.

Biography:

Prof. Shakeel Ahmed (M.Sc.Tech. 1980 from BHU, India & PhD, 1987 from Mines ParisTech, France) recently superannuated as Professor from Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad is visiting Professor at the Islamic University of Science and Technology, J&K. An Earth Scientist worked extensively for Groundwater Hydrology for 37 years at the CSIR’s National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad and later served as MK Gandhi Chair Professor in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

He led a large number of national and international projects on Earth Science including a mega program of National Aquifer Mapping in India. With almost 200 SCI publications and 5 books he supervised 43 doctoral theses.

He is managing the Secretariat of the Asian GWADI, a UNESCO flagship program as its Secretary. He established an Indo-French Centre for Groundwater Research in Hyderabad and led it for about 2 decades as its founder Head. His awards include National Geoscience Award, International Prize for water Science, National Mineral Award, INC-IAH Excellence Award, NGRI-AHI National Lecture Award, IGU-Annie Talwani Memorial Prize, Young Scientist Award etc.

He is Elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI), National Environmental Science Academy (NESA), Indian Social Science Academy (ISSA), Geological Society of India (GSI), Telangana Academy of Sciences (TAS).

He has been visiting Fellow to the Aligarh Muslim University and visiting professor to Kashmir University. Prof. Ahmed is the top publisher in the field of Groundwater Hydrology during last 3 decades in Indian sub-continents as well as stands 25th in National Ranking and 4673rd in World Ranking in the World Best Earth Scientists (by Research.com).