PM dedicates the newly constructed campus of the National Institute of Biotic Stress Management, Raipur to the Nation. PM also distributes the Green Campus Award to the Agricultural Universities
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the Nation 35 crop varieties with special traits through video conference. The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the newly constructed campus of the National Institute of Biotic Stress Management Raipur. On this occasion, the Prime Minister also distributed the Green Campus Award to Agricultural Universities. He interacted with farmers who use innovative methods and addressed the gathering.
Talking to SmtZaitoon Begum of Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, The Prime Minister talked about her journey of learning innovative agricultural practices and how she trained other farmers and how she is working for the education of girls in the valley. The Prime Minister mentioned that even in sports, girls from J&K are doing well. He also said that the needs of farmers with small holdings are the government’s priority and they get all the benefits directly.
While interacting with Shri Kulwant Singh, a farmer and seed producer of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister enquired how he was able to produce a diverse variety of seeds. The Prime Minister asked how he benefits from his interaction with scientists at the agricultural institute at Pusa and what is the trend among the farmers about getting in touch with such institutions. The Prime Minister praised the farmer for processing his crops and doing value-additions. The Prime Minister said that the government is making efforts to get good prices for farmers with many initiatives like access to the market, good quality seeds, soil health cards etc.
Prime Minister enquired SmtDarshanaPedenkar, from Bardez, Goa, how she is cultivating diverse crops and rearing various livestock. He asked about the value-addition of coconut done by the farmer. He expressed happiness that how a woman farmer is flourishing as an entrepreneur.
Interacting with Shri Thoiba Singh from Manipur, the Prime Minister complimented him for taking up farming after a life in the armed forces. The farmer’s diversified activities such as agriculture, fishery and other allied activities drew the Prime Minister’s interest. The Prime Minister praised him as an example of Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan-Jai Vigyaan.
The Prime Minister enquired from Shri Suresh Rana, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand about how he started corn cultivation. The Prime Minister complimented the farmers of Uttarakhand for using FPOs efficiently and said that when farmers work collectively they benefit a great deal. The Government is trying to make every resource and infrastructure available to the farmers.
Addressing the occasion, the Prime Minister said in the last 6-7 years, science and technology are being used on a priority basis to solve the challenges related to agriculture. ”Our focus is very high on more nutritious seeds, adapted to new conditions, especially in changing climates,” said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister recalled the massive locust attack in various states last year, in the midst of the Corona pandemic. India had tackled this attack by making a lot of efforts, saving farmers from incurring too much damage, he said.
The Prime Minister stressed that whenever farmers and agriculture get a safety net, their growth becomes rapid. He informed that 11 crores Soil Health Cards were issued for the protection of the land. The Prime Minister listed the farmer-friendly initiatives of the Government such as campaigns to complete about 100 pending irrigation projects for providing water security to the farmers, providing new varieties of seeds to farmers to protect crops from diseases thus getting a higher yield. He added that along with increasing the MSP, the procurement process was also improved so that more and more farmers can get the benefit. More than 430 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has been procured in the Rabi season and farmers have been paid more than 85 thousand crore rupees. Wheat procurement centres were increased more than three times during the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said by connecting farmers with technology, we have made it easier for them to get help from banks. Today farmers are getting weather information in a better way. Recently, more than 2 crore farmers have been given Kisan Credit Cards.The Prime Minister remarked that due to climate change, new types of pests, new diseases, epidemics are emerging, because of this, there is a big threat to the health of humans and livestock and crops are also being affected. Intensive continued research on these aspects is necessary. He remarked that when science, government and society work together, results will be better. Such an alliance of farmers and scientists will strengthen the country in dealing with new challenges.
The Prime Minister said efforts are being made to take the farmer out of the crop-based income system and encourage them for value-addition and other farming options. He stressed the need to further develop millets and other grains with solutions from science and research. He said that the purpose is that they can be grown in different parts of the country according to the local needs. He asked people to be prepared to use the opportunities provided by the UN declaring the coming year as the Year of the Millet. The Prime Minister said along with our ancient farming traditions, marching towards the future is equally important. He said modern technology and new farming tools are at the core of future farming. “Efforts to promote modern agricultural machines and equipment are showing results today,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion Union Agriculture Minister said that the Prime Minister makes constant efforts for the wellbeing of the small farmer. He is the Pradhan Sevak of the small farmer. Recalling what Prime Minister had done in the state of Gujarat in the field of Agriculture the Minister said that PM was instrumental in providing electricity and water for agricultural use in the state of Gujarat. The district of Kutch in Gujarat was transformed by progressive farming, cows were operated for cataract and agricultural growth rate in Gujarat went up to 9%.
Shri Tomar talked about the various initiatives taken by the union government for the farmers. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojna which brings farmers under the protective cover; The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi which makes the farmers financially empowered; The goal of formation of 10000 Farmer Producer Organisations for which the government is spending 6865 crore; The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for creating post harvest management infrastructure and community farm assests in villages; Provision of MSP which is atleast 50% over the cost of production; Provision of Kisan Rail and eNAM for marketing. The Minister said that the farm laws will usher in a new revolution from seed to market and will help in doubling farmers income.
Trait specific field crop varieties dedicated to the Nation
Sr. No. | Crop | Variety | Specific trait |
1 | Quinoa | Him Shakti | High protein content (15.64%) and oil (8.91%) |
2 | Buckwheat | Him Phaphra | High protein (13.1%) with methionine and iron (6.6 mg/100g) content |
3 | Winged bean | PBW 11-2 | High pod yield and protein content |
4 | Faba bean | HFB 2 | High seed yield and protein content (24.13%) |
5 | Soybean | NRC 138 | Early maturing amenable to mechanical harvesting |
6 | Soybean | KBVS 1 (Karune) | First variety of soybean having green pod suitable for consumption |
7 | Soybean | NRC 142 | First double null variety free from anti-nutritional factor Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) and lipoxygenase-2 (principal contributor to off-flavour) |
8 | Mustard | PusaDuble Zero Mustard 31 | High yielding (26.4 q/ha) variety of mustard with Canola quality (erucic acid <2% and glucosinolates<30ppm) |
9 | Mustard | RCH 1 | High yielding (26.7 q/ha) hybrid of mustard with Canola quality (erucic acid <2% and glucosinolates<30ppm) |
10 | Pigeonpea | IPH 15-3 | Early maturing (<150 day) and resistant to wilt and sterility and mosaic disease |
11 | Pigeonpea | IPH 09-5 | Early maturing (<150 day) and resistant to wilt and sterility and mosaic disease |
12 | Chickpea | Pusa Chickpea 4005 | A drought tolerant high yielding varieties of chickpea developed through marker assisted selection |
13 | Chickpea | IPCMB 19-3 (Samriddhi) | A Fusarium wilt resistant high protein (22.9%) variety developed through marker assisted selection |
14 | Pearl millet | PB 1877 | Summer pearl millet variety rich in Iron (42 ppm) and zinc (32 ppm) |
15 | Pearl millet | HHB 67 Improved 2 | Pearl millet hybrid rich in Iron (42 ppm) and zinc (32 ppm) and resistance to downy mildew |
16 | Sorghum | JaicarRaseela-CSV 49SS (SPV 2600) | Sweet sorghum suitable for 1G biofuel and silage making |
17 | Sorghum | CSH 47 (SPG 1798) | High biomass variety suitable for 2G biofuel and silage making |
18 | Forage sorghum | JaicarUrja-CSV 48 (SPV 2402) | High biomass variety suitable for 2G biofuel and silage making |
19 | Rice | Pusa Basmati 1979 | Herbicide tolerance in the background of PusaBasmati 1121. Suitable for direct seeding also |
20 | Rice | Pusa Basmati 1985 | Herbicide tolerance in the background of PusaBasmati 1509. Suitable for direct seeding also |
21 | Rice | Pusa Basmati 1886 | Bacterial blight and blast resistance in the background of Pusa Basmati 6. |
22 | Rice | Pusa Basmati 1847 | Bacterial blight and blast resistance in the background of Pusa Basmati 1509 |
23 | Rice | Pusa Basmati 1885 | Bacterial blight and blast resistance in the background of Pusa Basmati 1121 |
24 | Rice | DRR Dhan 58 | Resistant to bacterial blight (Xa21, xa13, xa5) and seedling stage salinity tolerance (Saltol QTL) in the background of Samba Masuri |
25 | Rice | DRR Dhan 59 | Resistant to bacterial blight (Xa33) in the background of Akshyadhan |
26 | Rice | DRR Dhan 60 | Resistant to bacterial blight (Xa21, xa13, xa5) and low soil phosphorus tolerance (Pup1) in the background of Samba Masuari |
27 | Maize | Pusa HQPM-1 Improved (APQH-1) | High 7.02 μg/g of provitamin, lysine (4.59%) and tryptophan (0.85%); widely adapted hybrid suitable for all zones |
28 | Maize | PusaBiofortified Maize Hybrid-1 (APH-1) | Rich in provitamin-A (6.6 μg/g), lysine (3.37%) and tryptophan (0.72%); hybrid suitable for northern hill and north eastern plain zone |
29 | Maize | Pusa HM4 Male Sterile Baby Corn (Shishu) (ABSH4-1) | First male sterile baby corn hybrid of the countrySaves Rs. 8,000-10,000/- per ha as no manual detasseling is required |
30 | Wheat | DBW 332 | High yielding wheat variety with 78.3 q/ha grain yield with high protein content (12.2%) and zinc (40.6 ppm) |
31 | Wheat | DBW 327 | High yielding wheat variety with high Zinc content (44.4 ppm) in its grains |
32 | Wheat | HI 1636 | High yielding biofortified variety with high zinc content (44.4 ppm) and excellent chapati quality (8.24/10) |
33 | Wheat | HUW 838 | High yielding wheat variety with high Zinc content (41.8 ppm) in its grains |
34 | Wheat | MP (JW) 1358 | High yielding wheat variety rich in protein (12.1%) and iron (40.6 ppm) |
35 | Wheat | HI 8123 | High yielding durum wheat variety with high zinc content (40.1 ppm) and protein content (12.1%) with good pasta acceptability (5.9) |