Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has announced a target-oriented research plan “One Scientist One Product” over the next five years which will be regularly monitored from the top so that maximum productivity is driven without duplicity of efforts. The government’s research body will also soon release 100 seed varieties in various crops as part of the government’s 100-day plan.
“As our Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has requested, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may release all the 100 new varieties soon,” said a top official of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
On the other hand, ICAR’s Director-General Himanshu Pathak said all the 5,521 scientists of the organisation have been registered under the “One Scientist One Product” scheme.
Assessed with target
“We have assigned every scientist with a target, that they have to come out with a product which includes seed variety, technology or some research paper or some model/concept. At the beginning of the year they have to identify and inform which product they want to bring out, not necessarily a physical product,” Pathak told media in New Delhi on Monday on the occasion of ICAR’s two-day Foundation Day programme, scheduled to be inaugurated by Chouhan on July 16.
Mapping has been done on which scientist is going to research which product. The target will be monitored every three months at official level and even by the researcher twice a year, Pathak said, adding it is a long-term project. He also said there will also be cases when one product will be developed by a group of scientists.
The ICAR DG also said a target has been set to raise paddy area under climate-resilient seeds to 25 per cent of the total kharif acreage from the current 15 per cent in a bid to combat growing challenges posed by climate change.
Kharif paddy area up
India, which is the world’s second-largest rice producer after China, has curbed rice exports by banning some varieties while slapping 20 per cent export duty on some others over nearly two years to check domestic price rise. Besides, there is also a minimum export price fixed for the aromatic Basmati rice.
The normal area under paddy in kharif is 40.16 million hectares (mh) and the acreage in current season has reached 11.56 mh as of July 12, up by 21 per cent from the year-ago period.
Pathak said, “While we have achieved 75 per cent coverage of climate-resilient seeds in wheat cultivation, the adoption in paddy is still limited, though ICAR has developed paddy varieties which are resistant to drought and lodging.