Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and biofortified seed varieties of agricultural and horticultural crops, aiming to enhance farm productivity and farmers' income.
Developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), these varieties span 61 crops, including 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops.
Modi unveiled the seeds at three experimental agriculture plots at Delhi's Pusa Campus, where he also interacted with farmers and scientists.
According to an official statement, Modi stressed on the significance of value addition in agriculture while discussing the importance of these new varieties with farmers.
Farmers present on the occasion said that these new varieties would be highly beneficial to them because of lower input cost.
The Prime Minister discussed the importance of millets and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. He also talked about the benefits of natural farming and the increasing faith of common people towards organic farming. Modi noted that people have started consuming and demanding organic foods.
Farmers appreciated the efforts of the government in promotion of natural farming. They also lauded the role played by Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) in creating awareness, the release said.
Modi suggested that the KVKs should proactively inform farmers about the benefits of the new varieties being developed every month to create awareness about their benefits, the statement said.
The Prime Minister also lauded the scientists for the development of these new crop varieties.
The scientists informed that they have been working in line with the suggestion given by the Prime Minister to bring unutilised crops into the mainstream, the statement said.
The field crop varieties include cereals, millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, and fibre crops.
For horticulture, the PM released new varieties of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, tubers, spices, flowers, and medicinal plants.
Since 2014, Modi has advocated for sustainable farming practices and climate-resilient methodologies to bolster farmers' income.
He has consistently emphasized on the promotion of biofortified crop varieties, linking them to government initiatives like the Mid-Day Meal scheme and Anganwadi services to combat malnutrition in India.
Later addressing reporters, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that today is a historic day for farmers as 109 varieties of 61 crops which have been released will help increase farmers' income, enhance production and reduce costs.
Chouhan said that the seeds of these crops are climate-friendly and can yield good crops even in adverse weather. He also informed that these varieties are rich in nutrition.
