This post was originally published on The Economic Times
Climate-resilient seed varieties are the need of the hour to boost agricultural productivity and ensure food security, especially as erratic weather patterns wreak havoc on farmers around the world. But it is important to remember that most agrarians in India do not have the financial resources to adopt such innovations quickly, say experts.
Their comments come in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 11 releasing 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and bio-fortified seed varieties of agricultural and horticultural crops, to enhance farm productivity and farmers’ income. The PM released 109 varieties of 61 crops, including 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The field crop varieties include cereals, millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton and fiber crops. For horticulture, the government released new varieties of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, tubers, spices, flowers and medicinal plants. Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said these seeds can yield good crops even in adverse weather and are
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