Need to Work More in the Field of Oilseeds, Pulses and Horticulture Crops: Narendra Tomar

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said “There is abundance of food grains in the country and it is a result of the research of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the hard work of farmers and the agricultural policies of Government.

We need to work more in the field of pulses, oilseeds & horticulture crops. New policy will be introduced for self-reliance in pulses & oilseeds”. The minister said this during a program of ICAR achievements, publications, new agricultural technologies & new varieties of agricultural crops and award distribution to the winners of "Gratitude" (KRITAGYA) Hackathon. In "Gratitude", the participants proved their ability by creating more than one useful infrastructure for agriculture & allied sectors. 

Tomar told that Indian Council of Agricultural Research is giving important service through sero-monitoring to make animals free from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). However, there is a need to accelerate this further.  In addition, agricultural education is the key aspect through which we have to make overall development of the farm sector.  

The aim of the event was to promote possible technology solutions to boost mechanization in farming, with special emphasis on women-friendly equipment. The Jayalalitha Fisheries University, Tamil Nadu team got this award for semi-automatic cutter that cut dry fish. In addition, National Equine Research Center, Hisar was awarded for Monoclonal antibody-based ELISA kit for horse flu by Animal Science Division. 

The Central Buffalo Research Center located in Hisar developed a kit called Preg-D to test the urine of dairy animals. With this kit pregnancy of animal can be tested in 30 minutes in just Rs. 10. Fisheries Division has developed a technology for making biodegradable packaging film (bioplastic) that is very cost effective.

Minister of State for Agriculture, Parshottam Rupala, ICAR -Director General, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Special Secretary Sanjay Singh, Deputy Director General (Education) Dr. R.C. Aggarwal also addressed participants.

Vice-Chancellor of GADVASU, Dr. Inderjeet Singh told that the new technologies & innovations are a boon for agriculture as well as animal husbandry. He appreciated the efforts of ICAR to acknowledge the scientists of different researches & innovations.