Experts: India Needs to Increase Soybean Productivity for Achieving Self-sufficiency in Edible Oils

Sanjeev Gupta, additional director general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, emphasized the importance of raising soybean productivity to attain self-sufficiency in edible oil. He also discussed the expansion of soy farming into new locations.

According to Gupta, soybean growing practices in nations like Brazil and Argentina are relevant in India, and scientific data from such countries should be collected.

Gupta was addressing during the opening ceremony of the city-based Indian Institute of Soybean Research's two-day 52nd annual group session of the All-India Coordinated Research Project on Soybean, which began on Tuesday at the SOPA auditorium.

Tilak Raj Sharma, deputy director general (Crop Science), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, opened the meeting, which was attended by over 150 soybean experts from various centres affiliated with the AICRPS (All India Coordinated Soybean Research Project on Soybean). Assistant director general (Oilseed & Pulses), ICAR, Sanjeev Gupta, DK Yadav, assistant director general (Seed), SC Dubey, ADG (Plant Protection), ICAR, Nachiket Kotwaliwale, director, ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana were among the dignitaries present.

Sanjeev Gupta emphasized the current state of the soybean seed replacement rate, which is low in comparison to other crops, as well as the necessity to popularize location-specific new varieties.

Tilak Raj Sharma, deputy director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, highlighted the need of promoting soybean variety diversity as well as climate-resilient, high-yielding soybean varieties among farmers in various soybean-growing states.

According to Nita Khandekar, head of the National Soyabean Research Institute, 25 soybean varieties was approved in 2021. She anticipated that the institution, as well as the AICRP on soybeans, will be able to produce climate-smart soybean varieties, as well as a lot of technologies for insect pest disease control, in light of the changing environment.

Following the opening remarks, a technical session on the crop improvement programme was held, during which plant breeders presented the findings of preliminary and advanced varietal experiments undertaken around the country.

Sanjay Gupta, Laxmansingh Rajput, and Lokesh Kumar Meena gave presentations on AICRP plant breeding, plant pathology, and entomology trials, and the technical schedule for the future year was finalized.