Congratulating ICAR Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh said the infusion of modern technologies in agriculture has undoubtedly rescued several innocent lives from claws of hunger. He was addressing 87th AGM of the ICAR Society.
Singh said that “the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has completed over eighty six years, overcoming challenges in growth and development of agriculture through generation of appropriate technologies that resulted in improving farm productivity, farm incomes, and building institutions, human resources, diversifying agriculture, creating new opportunities and opening up new frontiers of knowledge.
Highlighting the achievements of ICAR and its educational and research institutes Singh said that “a new fish species Clarias serratobrachium sp. nov. was discovered from the wetlands along Indo-Burma border. Development of improved varieties and hybrids and availability of their quality seed is the most vital and critical input for increasing the productivity of crops.
During the year, 80 new improved varieties/hybrids of different field and horticultural crops were released for cultivation in diverse agro-ecological regions of the country and produced and distributed over 98,000 quintals of breeder seeds of major food crops, as well. Biofortified rice variety CR Dhan 310 was commercialized successfully in the Indo-Gangetic Plains belt and Swarna Shreya, a new rice variety for drought–prone conditions was released.”
The crux of his address was that ICAR is committed to overcome farm constraints to make Indian agriculture truly sustainable and profitable.