biofortified varieties of crops – ECONOMY /
AGRICULTURE
News: Union
Agriculture Minister said that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) has developed high-yielding, climate resilient and biofortified
varieties of crop seeds, and that PM Modi will release these 109 crops for
the farmers.
- The aim is to ensure that the
benefits of science and research directly reach the farmers, says the
agriculture minister.
What’s
in the news?
- 109 varieties of 61 crops will
include 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops.
- less water-consuming and
high-producing seed varieties.
- It includes a variety of paddy that
requires 30% less water than the usual.
Need
of Crop Improvement
- Managing Impact of Climate
Change: Climate resilient seeds can yield good crop even
in adverse weather (heat waves, droughts, etc.). E.g. Bt cotton
- Climate
resilient crops will reduce crop losses due to diseases and pests
attacks.
- Food Security: Agricultural
yields are projected to drop by 16% by 2030 (World Economic Forum).
- Nutritional Security: Government
seeks to promote biofortified crops by linking them with the programmes
like Mid-Day Meal (PM Poshan Scheme), etc., to make India free
from malnutrition.
- Also,
these are affordable as biofortified varieties crop does not involve
any additional cost on preparing the enriched food grains. E.g.
vitamin-A rich maize grains.
- Raising Farmers Income:
High-yielding and adaptable crop varieties contribute to
higher incomes.
About
the Varieties:
- These seeds were developed by the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state agriculture
universities.
- The released varieties encompass 61
crops of 109 varities, including 34 field crops and 27 horticultural
varieties.
- Field Crops:
- Cereals and Millets: New
varieties of rice, barley, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, and finger
millet.
- Pulses:
New types of chickpea, pigeon pea, lentils, and mungbean.
- Oilseeds:
Varieties include safflower, soybean, groundnut, and sesame.
- Forage Crops:
Includes forage pearl millet, berseem, oats, forage maize, and forage
sorghum.
- Sugarcane and Fibre Crops: Four
sugarcane varieties and six fibre crops, including cotton and jute.
- Potential Crops:
Includes buckwheat, amaranth, winged bean, adzuki bean, pillipesara,
kalingda, and perilla.
- Horticultural Crops:
- Fruits, Vegetables, Tubers, Spices,
and More: Includes 40 new varieties covering
a wide range of horticultural products.
- Notable Varieties:
- CR Dhan 416: A
rice variety suitable for coastal saline areas with a yield of 48.97 q/ha
and resistance to multiple diseases and pests.
- Durum Wheat Variety:
Suitable for Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, with a yield of 30.2
q/ha, tolerance to heat, and biofortified with high levels of zinc and
iron.
Climate resilient agriculture
According
to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), climate resilient
agriculture is defined as “the ability of an agricultural system to
anticipate and prepare for, as well as adapt to, absorb and
recover from the impacts of changes in climate and extreme weather”.
About
Biofortification
- Biofortification is a process of
enhancing the nutritional quality of edible parts of the plants through
genetic approach such as plant breeding.
- Biofortification is regarded as the
most sustainable approach to alleviate malnutrition. It provides nutrients
in natural form, thus nutrients enter the body as part of natural food
matrix.
- ‘Biofortified varieties’ are as high
yielding as ‘traditional varieties’, thus no loss is incurred to the
farmers.
- They are also cost-efficient as they
do not include any additional costs.
Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- ICAR was established in 1929 as
a registered society under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860.
- It is an autonomous
organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare.
It
is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education
in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the
Source:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=2044302