The Minister of State for Agriculture Dr.Sanjeev kumar Balyan has said in the Lok Sabha that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is constantly upgrading its research agenda to meet the future challenges and prepared a ‘Vision-2050’.
The steps taken for providing new technologies to the farmers across the country include setting up of 642 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and 652 Agricultural Technology Management Agencies (ATMAs) at district level. In addition the farmers are provided information through Focused Publicity Campaigns, Kisan Call Centres (KCCs), Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres (ACABC) of entrepreneurs, Agri Fairs and exhibitions, Kisan SMS Portal , DD Kisan TV Channel and Community Radio Stations.
Besides, assistance to State Governments is provided for boosting the agriculture production under various schemes of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation viz. National Mission of Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET), Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
Other schemes includes National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Soil Health Card Scheme (SHC), Agriculture Technology Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).
In addition to generation of new technologies, the large network of ICAR Institutes and Agricultural Universities across the country also provides information to farmers regarding techniques and best practices for getting higher production through various outreach and extension education programmes.