The Cuttack-based National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), a constituent institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, on Tuesday released four new rice varieties, including two high-protein and two climate-smart varieties.
“The institute has recently released two high-protein rice varieties (CR Dhan 310 and CR Dhan 311) and two climate-smart varieties (CR Dhan 801 and CR Dhan 802), which are tolerant to both submergence and drought and few biotic stresses to face the challenges of climate change,” said Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, who visited NRRI to inaugurate a genomics and quality laboratory at the institute.
According to the Minister, the institute has developed 132 high yielding rice varieties for different agro-ecologies, many of which are popular among the farmers of different states.
“About 13 per cent of the rice varieties released in the country have been released by ICAR-NRRI. Out of 43 million hectares of rice area, NRRI varieties cover about 8 million hectares — 18 per cent of the rice-growing area of the country, in 2017-18.
Annual production of rice with NRRI varieties in the country is 27.8 million tonnes with gross returns of ₹48,643 crore — 13 per cent of India’s gross return from rice is generated with NRRI varieties,” Singh added. NRRI is the nodal agency for planning, implementation and monitoring of the Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India programme.