India has one of the largest National Agricultural Research System (NARS) in the world, comprising 102 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes, 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes, 82 All India Coordinated Projects/ Networks, 4 deemed to be Universities, 3 Central Agricultural Universities and 63 State Agricultural/ Veterinary/ Horticultural/ Fishery Universities located in different States. Besides this, ICAR has a network of 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) established across the country which are engaged in refining the technologies developed and undertake frontline demonstrations of these technologies in farmers’ fields. The requisite infrastructure and expertise available with ICAR Institutions, State Agricultural Universities and KVKs cater to various technological interventions in various fields of agriculture and allied sectors to meet the demand of agricultural sector.
The research activities carried out by ICAR during last three years include (i) Release of 946 field crop varieties comprising of 379 of cereals, 146 of Oilseeds, 168 of Pulses, 55 of Forage Crops, 158 of Fibre Crops, 26 of Sugarcane and 14 of other crops (potential/ minor crops) and 171 varieties of horticultural crops; (ii) Development of 25 vaccines and 40 diagnostics for diagnosis and their containment; (iii) Development of breeding and seed production technologies for 161 food and ornamental fishes, 48 indigenous fish feed and 70 improved aquaculture systems; (iv) Development of 90 resource specific gears & fuel-efficient fishing vessels for efficient fishing; and (v) Development of approximately 168 technologies/ machines. These improved varieties/ technologies/ machines/ vaccines etc. are aimed at augmenting the production and productivity in Agriculture in the country.
The above technological developments coupled with Government policies and programmes have resulted in significant increase in food production in the recent years. Agriculture and the allied sector registered a growth of 3.6 per cent in 2020-21 and 3.9 per cent in 2021-22. The overall food production has increased from 265.05 million tonnes (MT) in 2013-14 to 314.51MT in 2021-22. The production of pulses increased from 19.26 MT in 2013-14 to 27.75 MT in 2021-22 and the horticultural production from 280.70 MT in 2013-14 to 341.63 MT in 2021-22.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
