NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and biofortified varieties of 61 crops, including 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops, and suggested that the ‘Krishi Vigyan Kendras’ (KVKs) – agri extension centres – should proactively inform farmers about the benefits of the new varieties as it will help them produce more, spend less and earn more.Farmers will receive seeds of all these new varieties within three years.
The Prime Minister also proposed that experts from KVKs, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and state agricultural universities engage with farmers one day each month and the goal of this exchange should be to tackle a current issue related to agriculture and attempt to identify answers through mutual learning.
It is expected that the regular interaction may not only help farmers know the best farm practices and effectiveness of new varieties but also solve their problems of how to get the best price of their produce. Such an exchange may also be helpful in handling the simmering tensions among farmers at a time when a section of them has constantly been on protest mode demanding better price of their produce either through minimum support price (MSP) or other interventions.
New crop varieties, developed by scientists of ICAR, include nine of paddy, six of maize, two of wheat, one each of jawar, bajra and ragi, seven of different oilseeds, 11 of pulses, five of cotton and four of sugarcane. Among horticultural crops, the new varieties include three of mango, two of guava, one of pomegranate and two of tomato among others fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. These crop varieties are developed for different agro-climatic zones of the country, focusing on short duration, resistance to floods and droughts/heat, and adaptability to various biotic and abiotic conditions.
Interacting with farmers here at farms of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), PM Modi emphasised on how these climate-resilient varieties of different crops would increase the yield as well as farmers’ income in addition to encouraging them towards environment-friendly sustainable farming practices.
The Prime Minister on the occasion also discussed the importance of millets and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. Talking about the benefits of natural farming and the increasing faith of common people towards organic farming, he noted that people have started consuming and demanding organic foods and therefore adoption of organic farming by farmers would be quite beneficial for them.
Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also accompanied PM Modi to the ICAR-IARI farms. Calling it a historic day for farmers, he said the release of new varieties of crops is the best example of a “lab to land” programme.
The move to release these 109 new varieties was announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget presentation on July 23. Release of new improved varieties of seeds is a regular process by the ICAR which is driving innovation and technology development to maintain the agri-productivity, keeping in view changing climate and evolving biotic and abiotic stresses.
The ICAR – premier public sector farm research institution – released as many as 323 varieties of 56 crops including cereals, oilseeds, forage crops, and sugarcane were released during 2023-24. These varieties include 27 biofortified and 289 climate-resilient varieties for the various biotic and abiotic stresses.
The ICAR’s records show that a total of 2,593 high-yielding varieties were released during 2014-15 to 2023-24. These varieties include 2,177 climate resilient (83% of total) with biotic and abiotic stress resistance, and 150 biofortified ones. High-yielding fine grain aromatic Basmati rice varieties (Pusa Basmati 1121, Pusa basmati 1509, Pusa Basmati 1401 and Pusa Basmati 17180, which contribute to annual export of more than Rs. 42,000 crores, are among the most successful varieties developed by the institution.
The Prime Minister also proposed that experts from KVKs, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and state agricultural universities engage with farmers one day each month and the goal of this exchange should be to tackle a current issue related to agriculture and attempt to identify answers through mutual learning.
It is expected that the regular interaction may not only help farmers know the best farm practices and effectiveness of new varieties but also solve their problems of how to get the best price of their produce. Such an exchange may also be helpful in handling the simmering tensions among farmers at a time when a section of them has constantly been on protest mode demanding better price of their produce either through minimum support price (MSP) or other interventions.
New crop varieties, developed by scientists of ICAR, include nine of paddy, six of maize, two of wheat, one each of jawar, bajra and ragi, seven of different oilseeds, 11 of pulses, five of cotton and four of sugarcane. Among horticultural crops, the new varieties include three of mango, two of guava, one of pomegranate and two of tomato among others fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. These crop varieties are developed for different agro-climatic zones of the country, focusing on short duration, resistance to floods and droughts/heat, and adaptability to various biotic and abiotic conditions.
Interacting with farmers here at farms of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), PM Modi emphasised on how these climate-resilient varieties of different crops would increase the yield as well as farmers’ income in addition to encouraging them towards environment-friendly sustainable farming practices.
The Prime Minister on the occasion also discussed the importance of millets and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. Talking about the benefits of natural farming and the increasing faith of common people towards organic farming, he noted that people have started consuming and demanding organic foods and therefore adoption of organic farming by farmers would be quite beneficial for them.
Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also accompanied PM Modi to the ICAR-IARI farms. Calling it a historic day for farmers, he said the release of new varieties of crops is the best example of a “lab to land” programme.
The move to release these 109 new varieties was announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget presentation on July 23. Release of new improved varieties of seeds is a regular process by the ICAR which is driving innovation and technology development to maintain the agri-productivity, keeping in view changing climate and evolving biotic and abiotic stresses.
The ICAR – premier public sector farm research institution – released as many as 323 varieties of 56 crops including cereals, oilseeds, forage crops, and sugarcane were released during 2023-24. These varieties include 27 biofortified and 289 climate-resilient varieties for the various biotic and abiotic stresses.
The ICAR’s records show that a total of 2,593 high-yielding varieties were released during 2014-15 to 2023-24. These varieties include 2,177 climate resilient (83% of total) with biotic and abiotic stress resistance, and 150 biofortified ones. High-yielding fine grain aromatic Basmati rice varieties (Pusa Basmati 1121, Pusa basmati 1509, Pusa Basmati 1401 and Pusa Basmati 17180, which contribute to annual export of more than Rs. 42,000 crores, are among the most successful varieties developed by the institution.