12 August 2024, New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient resilient and biofortified varieties of crops at India Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi yesterday. These 109 varieties comprise of 69 Field Crops and 40 Horticultural Crops.
Prime Minister also interacted with the farmers and scientists on the occasion. Discussing the importance of these new crop varieties, the Prime Minister stressed on the significance of value addition in agriculture. The farmers said that these new varieties will be highly beneficial as they will help reduce their expenditure and also have a positive impact on the environment. He discussed the importance of millet and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. The farmers appreciated the efforts undertaken by the government to promote natural farming. The prime minister further suggested that KVKs should proactively inform farmers about the benefits of the new varieties being developed to enhance awareness of their benefits.
The 109 varieties of 61 crops released by the Prime Minister included 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops. Among the field crops, seeds of various cereals including millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, fibre and other potential crops were released. Among the horticultural crops, different varieties of fruits, vegetable crops, plantation crops, tuber crops, spices, flowers and medicinal crops were released.
Later, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that today is significant for farmers since the 109 varieties of 61 crops that have been released will help them produce more, earn more money and spend less. Chouhan said that the seeds of these crops are climate-friendly and can yield good crop even in adverse weather. He also informed that these varieties are rich in nutrition.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared that within three years, farmers will receive seeds from all 109 varieties. Additionally, he said that imports of exotic mango varieties are not currently necessary because our own variety is more productive, more aesthetically pleasing, and has superior keeping qualities, all of which can increase farmers’ income. All of these types are appropriate for natural farming, and research on this topic is ongoing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed that experts from KVK, ICAR, and state agricultural universities must engage with farmers at least one day each month. The goal of this exchange should be to tackle a current issue related to agriculture and attempt to identify answers through mutual learning.
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