The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has called for development of hybrid rice varieties that meet local requirements.
Dr Swapan Kumar Datta, Deputy Director-General of ICAR, said that productivity of rice has to increase in the country to meet food requirements in future. “We have done reasonably okay with regard to hybrid development. But it is not good enough. We need hybrids that are close to local user patterns. It is a difficult job and it is the real challenge,” he said.
Dr Swapan Kumar Datta was addressing the 47th Annual Rice Research Group Meetings here at the Directorate of Rice Research (DRR). He said that hybrids would play a major role in achieving the targets for the coming decades. Though rice is grown in millions of acres, it was not all viable. “Farmers are moving to other crops. But consumers are increasing. If production does not improve, we can't meet the demand,” he said.
Though the country could import rice, it was not feasible and not possible to do it for 120 crore people. “For one or two difficult years, it is okay,” he said.
Mr Nagireddy, Principal Secretary (Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh), has said that the State Government intended to support System of Rice Intensification farming in five lakh hectares this year against 1.13 lakh ha last year.