President Droupadi Murmu has said that rich agro-biodiversity of India has been a treasure trove for the global community at large. Inaugurating the First Global Symposium on Farmers' Rights in New Delhi today the President said, India is a mega-diverse country with only 2.4 percent of the world's land area but accounts for 7 to 8 percent of all recorded species of plants and animals. She said that India ranks as one of the nations endowed with widest range of plants and species. 

President Murmu said, the farmers of the country have toiled and conserved local varieties of plants, domesticated wild plants and nurtured traditional varieties that provided building blocks for crop breeding programmes and ensured food and nutritional security for human beings and animals. President Murmu said that agricultural research and technology development has enabled India to multiply production of food grains, horticulture, fisheries, milk and eggs many times since 1950-51 making a visible impact on the national food and nutrition security. She highlighted that the efforts of agro-biodiversity conservers and industrious farmers, scientists and policy makers coupled with governmental support have played a key role in giving fillip to multiple agricultural revolutions in the country.
 
The President said, it is our responsibility to safeguard the rights of the farmers and care for their future as they are the food providers for humanity, Anndata. The Symposium is being organised by the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (International Treaty) of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome and hosted by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in collaboration with Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Indian Agricultural Research Institute and National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.