New
Paradigms in Agricultural Research
The Indian Council of Agricultural
Research is an apex organization in the country spearheading agricultural
research, education and extension activities for productivity enhancement and
diversification of Indian agriculture. The comprehensive initiatives taken by
the Council have led to notable accomplishments in natural resource management,
input use efficiency, climate resilience, secondary agriculture and economic
transformation of farmers though technological interventions. The science-led
and technology- driven agriculture is duly supported by appropriate
institutional mechanisms, enabling environment and policies. ICAR with 99
institutes, 69 Agricultural Universities and 636 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)
spread across the country constitutes one of the largest national agricultural
research systems in the world. ICAR provided the critical technological inputs
for various processes of agriculture that culminated the highest ever food
production of all components of cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables,
meat, milk, fish and eggs during 2012-13.
The monsoon-driven Indian
agriculture witnessed 106% of long-term average rainfall during the cropping
season 2013 that enabled 105 million hectare of total area sown during kharif
2013 as compared to about 100 million hectare during 2012. Eventually, the
first advanced estimates target food-grain production of 259 million tonnes and
a growth rate of over 5% for agriculture and allied sectors in 2013-14.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were struck by natural
calamities of differential, but severe intensities. The ICAR prepared doable
and location-specific action plans of agriculture and allied sectors for
rehabilitation and restoration of the affected areas through technological
backstopping. The Council demonstrated climate resilient technologies in 100
most-vulnerable districts under NICRA. For different agro-climatic regions, 104
new improved varieties/hybrids have been released during the year. The Council
has also prepared the climatic vulnerability atlas of the country and district
level contingency plans to enable farmers to choose appropriate means and
methods for mitigating the climatic variability in different agro-climatic
regions. Further, the Council is committed to need-based, location specific
research for agricultural development in the country through innovation and
integration.
For productivity enhancement, the
Council released an early-maturing basmati rice variety, Pusa Punjab Basmati
1509 with moderate resistance to leaf blast and brown spot diseases; a
late sowing wheat variety HD 3059; and the large seeded (>30g/100 seeds)
kabuli chickpea variety, CSJK 6, moderately resistant to root rot and tolerant
to wilt. During the year, 11,835 tonnes of breeder seeds, 14,984 tonnes of
foundation seeds, 22,281 tonnes of certified seeds, 14,939 tonnes of truthfully
labeled seeds and 5,237 tonnes of quality planting material have also been
produced for distribution among stakeholders. In horticultural crops, bacterial
wilt, TLC V and Alternaria-resistant tomato Arka Rakshak yielding over 90
tonnes/hectare; a new red skinned advance potato hybrid 2001P-55 with a
potential yield of 300-350 quintals/hectare and moderately resistant to late
blight for Eastern plains of Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand;
and a new variety Swarna Vaidehi of makhana (Euryale ferox Salisb.), with a
production potential of 2.8-3.0 tonnes/hectare were released.
The livestock sector plays an
important role in providing livelihood to small farmers with over 87% of the
livestock owned by small and marginal farmers. At Hisar based Central Institute
for Research on Buffaloes 63,857 frozen semen doses of Murrah bulls were
produced as farmers from all over India are evincing keen interest in Murrah
breed improvement. Physical identification using injectable subcutaneous
microchips was done in all female buffalo progeny to help in future milk
recordings in the project. Under the Mega Sheep Seed Project, flocks of
Chottanagpuri, Mandya, Mecheri and Sonadi were built up for production of
superior seed. Crossbred pig (Hampshire and Ghungroo) was found suitable for
farmers because of its fast growth, adaptive and carcass characteristics with a
marketable weight of over 75 kg in 8 months. A dual purpose poultry variety,
Srinidhi was developed that attains a body weight of 668 g in 6 weeks.
The technology of seed production of
silver pompano (Trachinotus blochii), a highly sought after fish due to its
fast growth rate and high market demand, was scaled up for bulk seed production
and transportation. Off-season breeding of climbing perch has paved the way for
round-the-year production of its quality seed. Spawning of marine fish Cobia in
recirculation aquaculture systems showed high survival rates of 86.7%, ensuring
availability of quality seed for culture. Farm made feed for Sea bass enabled
production of 2.7 tonnes/ hectare in 325 days of culture. The reported marine
fish catch of 3.94 million metric tonnes during 2012-13 is an all-time record,
with a growth rate of 3.37% over the previous year.
In the field of cutting edge
science, ICAR successfully developed world’s first test tube yak calf Norgyal;
male buffalo cloned calf Swarn using seminal plasma of elite bull; and Purnima,
first cloned calf from an adult buffalo. Blast resistance gene Pi 54
incorporated into major rice varieties viz., Pusa Basmati-1, Swarna and BPT
5204. ICAR scientists decoded the genomes of the cultivated tomato (Solanum
lycopersicon) and its closest wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium, in the
International Consortium.
Genetic resources are of unique
significance, as they provide valuable traits with potential for breeding new
varieties/hybrids/animal strains/breeds. In this endeavour, thirty-three
explorations were undertaken in 16 states and collected 1,722 accessions,
including 322 of wild species. In the National Gene Bank 5,414 accessions of
orthodox seed species and 112 of non-orthodox species were cryo-stored, and
eight were added to in-vitro Gene Bank for long-term storage. Over 44,000
accessions from 42 countries were imported including promising accessions of
wheat, paddy, safflower and others.
In an endeavour to reach out to
farmers, the ICAR made 2,174 technological interventions in 4,159 locations in
cropping systems, drudgery reduction, farm machineries and other areas. Over
1.40 lakh extension programmes through electronic and print media were
conducted across the country. The Council also approved four new KVKs, two in
Jammu & Kashmir and one each in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for
technological empowerment of farmers and knowledge sharing. The Council
launched social media initiatives to develop a dialogue and share the vast
knowledge resources of ICAR with youth.
Eighty-three patents were filed
taking the cumulative figure to 826 applications from 68 ICAR institutes.
Indian Patent Office granted 161 patents from 25 institutes. Protection of
Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Authority considered applications and
granted registration certificates for 138 varieties taking the cumulative total
to 469. Commercialized 82 technologies/products; transferred 58 technologies to
private entrepreneurs with a license fee of over Rs. 3.2 crore.
To enhance land and labour
productivity, tractor operated five-row seed-cum-fertilizer-drill was developed
which is capable for placing seeds at 50 mm and fertilizer at 100-150 mm depth
and covers 0.2-0.35 hectare/hour. A multi-millet thresher operated by 1.5 kw
motor with 95% efficiency reduces drudgery and minimizes post-harvest losses.
Machines for roasting and popping of makhana and extraction of pulp from
custard apple were developed. For improvement in quality of ground spices
powder, a cryogenic grinder was developed.
The National Agricultural Innovation
Project (NAIP), made satisfactory progress in enhancing the competence of NARS
towards steering the agriculture R&D and introducing pragmatic pluralism.
91 public-private partnerships were established in 203 NAIP supported
sub-projects, including three with GEF support. New 51 rural industries were
piloted and over 3,800 hectare area of farmers’ agricultural land brought under
sustainable land management practices.
AgrInnovate India Ltd., the
registered company owned by DARE/ICAR is working towards promotion and commercialization
of ICAR technologies, and licensed the technology of tissue culture of oilpalm
and related knowhow for commercialization. To augment the availability of FMD
vaccine, Agrinnovate has initiated the establishment of a modern vaccine
production plant (capacity 100- 150 million doses) in PPP mode at Bengaluru
capus of Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar. The company is also
assisting DARE on projects related to establishment of facilities for soil,
water and tissue testing, seed production and demonstration.
DARE and ICAR became one of the
first Departments in having the recognition of ISO 9001:2008 certification by
implementing Quality Management System. This is also the success indicator of
all the Government Departments, and testifies the commitment towards assuring
quality services to its customers with continual improvement of its delivery
system. DARE/ICAR also achieved 97.6% composite Score of RFD for the year
2012-13.
The demand for food is continuously
increasing with rising population amidst the production constraints such as
shrinking natural resources and increasing farm operation costs. The present
food production has been achieved through productivity enhancement, striking a
balance between environmental and agricultural sustainability, wherein research
innovations are essential ingredients. Further to corroborate ‘science-led
growth,’ as indicated by the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister,
the ICAR is contemplating initiatives such as Farmer FIRST, Student READY,
National Agricultural Innovation Foundation, Agricultural Technology Foresight
Centre and Consortia Research Platforms to enrich agricultural research and
education through innovation and integration.
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