Agri Minister asks Icrisat to focus on improving soil health

Agricultural research body Icrisat has been asked to focus on improving soil health and taking technology to the doorsteps of farmers.

“We must improve the health of soil to the benefit of smallholder farmers. I urge Icrisat to upscale plans to extend soil health cards to every farmer in the country,”

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said during his recent visited to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (Icrisat).

Singh, who has been reiterating his Government’s focus on small and marginal farmers, exhorted the research body to take technologies that are ready to the doorstep of every smallholder farmer in the country, adding that this was a priority for the Government, an Agriculture Ministry release said.

Recognising the importance of pulses in enhancing food security and incomes of smallholder farmers, Singh also discussed with Icrisat, the Government’s priority of upscaling cultivation of pulses and making it more competitive and pledged additional support to the efforts of Icrisat to enable a ‘Pulses Revolution’ in India.

Icrisat Director-General, William D Dar, shared with the Minister the idea of an India Genome Centre for Agriculture, which he said had the potential to transform India into a global leader in genomics.

He said higher support to value chains of nutri-cereals, such as millets, which have been traditional crops in most areas, is essential. “With high nutritional composition and resilience to survive in dry areas, nutri-cereals will be critical to India’s future helping overcome malnutrition and to cope with climate change,” he added.