from the dgs desk news in brief · 2019. 5. 29. · paddy straw has high cellulose and...

News in Brief Dear Readers,Among several sources of renewable energies like solar, wind, smallhydro, biomass plays a key role in catering of energy requirementsof rural India. Biomass is an organic matter derived from wood,agricultural residue, and animal waste; biomass is an abundant,naturally occurring source of energy, and one that is also carbon-neutral, i.e., it generates an equal amount of carbon dioxide thatit consumes. While biomass energy in the form of fuelwood anddung have had a long history of fulfilling humanity’s basic lighting,heating, and cooking needs, its potential as a source of electricityhas been steadily developed since the oil crisis of 1973.

As a result of fourfold increase in agricultural production since1951, large quantity of crop residues are produced some of whichhave become surplus to their traditional uses as animal feed,domestic fuel,c o n s t r u c t i o nmaterial, etc. Theannual surplus ofcrop residues in Indiaestimated at 70million tonnes peryear is burnt on-farm. Punjab aloneburns about 14million tonnes ofpaddy straw duringOctober month eachyear. There is ageneral desire to restrict and even stop the practice of uncontrolledburning of rice straw because it causes serious air pollution. Paddystraw has high cellulose and hemi-cellulose content and low lignincontent. Collection and disposal of this straw which is spread thinlyover large harvested area poses a practical problem. Most of thissurplus, which is now wasted, could serve as a source of energygeneration in the form of methane rich biogas or liquid transportfuel (alcohol).

India has high potential of 18 GW of energy from Biomass. Thegovernment of India plans to add 175 GW by year 2022 fromrenewable energy sources. Of these, 100 GW will be from solarenergy, 60 GW from wind energy, 10 GW from small hydropower,and 5 GW from biomass based power projects. At the end of firstquarter of 2017, about 59 GW were installed as per MNRE, Govt. ofIndia reports. The total potential for renewable power generationin the country as on 31 March 2017 was estimated at 10,01,132 MW(Energy Statistics, 2018, MSPI Government of India). Of these,18,601 MW (1.86%) is produced from biomass power, 7260 MW

JANUARY – MARCH 2019

From the DG’s Desk

IS/ISO 9001 : 2008 Organization ISSN No.: 2394-3254

From the DG’s Desk 1

Workshops, Meetings, Seminars, Conferences...

90th AGM 2019 3Annual Group Meeting of ICAR-AICRP on 4

Pearl MilletAwareness-cum-inception workshop 4Scientist-Entrepreneur meet on camel 5

leather and bone productsNational Group Meeting of AICRP 6Annual review workshop of network project 7Group meeting on Arid Zone Fruits 8

International Linkages

Golden Jubilee International Salinity 8Conference

BRAQCON 2019 9Assessors Training Organized by FAO 97th Pan Commonwealth Veterinary 10

conference

MoUs 10

Capacity Building 11

Transfer of rural technology 11Fish waste utilization programme 12Productivity in bovines 13Awareness camp for fisheries tribals 14Seeds released into sea to boost marine 14

production

Celebrations 15

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi 15Programme and Kisan Mela

Poorwanchal Kisan Mela and Krishi 15Pradarshani

Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela — 2019 16International Women’s Day 17National Science Day 18Foundation Day Celebrations 18

Success Stories 20

Visits 22

Trainings 23

Personnel 24

(0.73%) from bagasse-based cogeneration in sugar mills,and 2554 MW (0.26%) from waste to energy. India hashuge potential to generate energy from bio resourcesbut these resources were not utilized properly ascompared to other renewable energy sources.

Out of a total of 199,877 MW of installed capacity inthe country, biomass accounts for 3095 MW. Thisincludes 1952 MW of grid-connected cogeneration frombagasse, and 1143 MW of biomass-based power fromagro residues. A bulk of this capacity is from combustiontechnology. Power generation through biomassgasification contributes 148 MW, chiefly in off-grid ruraland industrial settings. Clearly, when contrasted withits estimated potential of 18,000 MW annually, bioenergyis some distance from achieving its promise in India.This under performance is due to several barriers –technical, institutional, regulatory, and financial. Oneof the biggest hurdles is continued absence ofdemonstrated operational feasibility and financialviability.

Bioenergy is produced either through combustion, wherebiomass is burned to generate heat that is, in turn,used to generate steam and then converted toelectricity (much like coal is used in thermal powerstations); or through gasification, which is a thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into a combustible gasmixture (producer gas) that fires in engines or inturbines generating electricity. Typically, power plantswith installed capacities of 2 MW and above produceelectricity through combustion. Gasification toelectricity, on the other hand, is a relatively newerdevelopment which opens up possibilities for small-scale(a few kilowatt- to megawatt-scale) biomass powerprojects. While the technology of gasification is notnew, its application to produce bioenergy has beenpioneered in large part by Indian scientists andentrepreneurs.

Government of India has prepared a strategic actionplan for product development and commercialisation ofbioenergy technologies. Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy is currently implementing bio-energytechnologies through various schemes including familysize biogas plants through National Biogas ManureManagement Programme and promoting and providingsubsidiary incentives for the installation of various offgrid decentralized renewable energy projects. Biomassbased heat and power projects, industrial waste toenergy projects for meeting captive needs and biomassgasifiers for rural and industrial energy applicationshave been promoted for implementation. Four sets ofprogrammes are being implemented with the aim togenerate competitively priced bio power and/or heatfrom agricultural, agro-industrial residues andplantations and urban and industrial wastes. These arebiomass power, bagasse cogeneration, non-bagassecogeneration, biomass gasifier and urban and industrialwaste management, etc.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has takenup initiatives on research and development of biofuelproduction technologies. Government of India

announced national policy on biofuel technology inDecember 2009 which was further revised and appearedas National Biofuel Policy of India. The major goals ofthe policy are development and utilization of indigenousnon-food feedstocks raised on degraded or wastelands,thrust on research and development on cultivation,processing and production of biofuels and a blendingmandate of 20% Ethanol and bio-diesel. The objectiveof biofuel programme is to support R and D, Pilot plant/demonstration projects leading to commercialdevelopment of second generation biofuels. The Ministrysupports R and D projects for development oftechnologies for production of biofuels through biogas,pyrolysis and gasification, besides promotingdeployment of technologies for pilot and full-scaleprojects on biofuels in general.

It is now widely believed that 100% rural electrificationrequires solutions beyond grid electricity, which isalways going to be diverted first to serve the everhungry urban and industrial clusters. The environmentalcost of this is an added concern, considering themajority of grid power in India is generated throughcoal use. In such a scenario, bioenergy – which iscarbon-neutral, amenable to off-grid power generation,and operable at sub-megawatt capacities – is aneminently viable solution. Because energy demand invillages is characterized by dispersed and low loaddensity, and with adequate potential for biomassplantations, bioenergy seems tailor-made for ruralenergy requirements. Bioenergy technology has notelicited significant interest from investors, curtailingthe flow of funds for development and replication.Bioenergy has to eventually compete in an energymarket against subsidized grid electricity and fossilfuels. This has placed bioenergy at a competitivedisadvantage, which has further acted as a barrier toits widespread adoption. The steps to be implementedfor ensuring energy access to rural India through cleanertechnologies necessitates promoting decentralizedmodes of power generation from biomass fuels. Capacitybuilding in local institutions to manage demand andsupply of rural integrated energy systems is essentiallyrequired.

Government of India has to increase investment inimplementation of biomass gasification based powerplants, biomass briquett production and utilization inexisting coal based power production plants, utilizationof domestic as well as industrial biodegradable wastefor biogas production, bio-CNG production and itsutilization for vehicular application, bioethanolproduction from agro-residues, and its utilization forvehicular application etc. Therefore, it is peak time todevelop a policy to support utilization and managementof agricultural crop residues. The government needs toincrease an investment to increase bioenergy productionplants in different states to overcome stubble burningissue.

(T. Mohapatra)e mail: [email protected]

2 ICAR REPORTER January – March 2019

WORKSHOPS, MEETINGS, SEMINARS,CONFERENCES, Symposia

New Delhi, 28 February 2019. The Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, New Delhi organized the 90th

Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society at NationalAgricultural Science Centre Complex, New Delhi.

In his address, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Ministerof Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare applauded theconstruction of Bharat Ratna C SubramaniamAuditorium at NASC Complex, New Delhi. The Ministermentioned that the newly built auditorium with acapacity to accommodate 1,200 persons is equippedwith all the modern world-class facilities. TheMinister congratulated the ICAR for its 90th successfulyear. The Minister applauded the conferring of PadmaSri Awards to 12 farmers including 2 women farmersby the government for their outstanding contributionsin the field of agriculture and farming.

friendly technologiesand helping inempowering poorfarmers of thecountry to nowbecome self-dependent.

Dr TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary(DARE) and DG (ICAR)presented the Year

Report and briefed about various achievements madein the Financial Year - 2018 to 2019. In his address, DrMohapatra mentioned about the introduction of morethan 400 crops varieties. He also highlighted thefelicitation of stakeholders for the registration of 15new breeds of livestock and poultry. He discussedICAR’s initiatives and advancements made inagricultural technologies with the help of globalnetworking.

The Director-General, ICAR mentioned about recentventures of ICAR in formsof Memorandums ofUnder-standing signedbetween ICAR and thevarious otherOrganizations namelyDepartment ofBiotechnology, CSIR ILRI,etc.

He said that around 100plus Mobile Apps have

been developed for farmers’ outreach which depictedconsiderably good results in helping the farmers toavail the latest technologies in their agriculturalfields. The occasion marked the releasing ceremonyof “Textbook of Basic Concepts of WeedManagement” and “Textbook of Basic Concepts ofDaily Microbiology”, etc., by dignitaries.

email: [email protected]

90th AGM - 2019

Shri Radha Mohan Singh mentioned the government’sinitiative to give ` 6,000 to small and marginalfarmers’ families having a combined landholding andownership up to 2 ha under the government’s“Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi” scheme.

Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Statefor Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare also lauded therole of agricultural scientists in developing the farmer-

3ICAR REPORTER January – March 2019

“Per drop, more crop can become our mission”— Narendra Modi

Annual Group Meeting of ICAR-AICRP on Pearl Millet

New Delhi, 15 March 2019. Dr Trilochan Mohapatra,Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR) inaugurated the“54th Annual Group Meeting of ICAR-AICRP on PearlMillet” at Dr BP Pal Auditorium, IARI, New Delhi.

necessary for a good and healthier life.

Dr C Tara Satyavathi, Project Coordinator, ICAR-AICRPon Pearl Millet, Jodhpur highlighted the mainnutritional values of Millet and its health-relatedadvantages. Dr Satyavathi said that the crop occupied7.4 million ha with an average production of 9.13million tonnes and productivity of 1237 kg/ha duringthe Year 2017-18 (Directorate of Millets Development,2019 Project Coordinator Review, 2019).

She said that ICAR-AICRP on Pearl Millet is committedto pearl millet improvement through research,technology generation and transfer. Dr Satyavathihighlighted that Pearl Millet is one of the first cropswhere MAS strategies and tools have been applied fordeveloping the “Improved HHB-67”.

She underlined that the ICAR-AICRP on Pearl Millet isactively collaborating as technology and knowledgepartner in several new research initiatives namelyUNEP-GEF Project, Millet Mission by NFSM, Niche Areaof Excellence (NAE) Programme from ICAR, ICAR-BMGF Project, etc.


Awareness-cum-Inception workshop

Bhubaneshwar, 4 January 2019. The ICAR-CentralInstitute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswarorganized one-day Awareness-cum-Inception Workshopon CIFABROODTM under NFDB funded (NFDB-CIFABROODTM) demonstration project at the conferencehall, Meen Bhavan, Ulubari, Guwahati, Asom.

Dr Mohapatra, emphasized on contributions made inthe research works by each and every individual isimportant. He urged scientists and researchers to givedue importance to contributions made by their co-workers. He urged scientists from various agriculturaland allied sciences’ backgrounds to maintain a properrecord of their valuable researches by promptly

documenting them. Hesaid that this would behelpful to pass on theirresearch expertise tothe young researchersand scientists forunderstanding thevarious issues relatedto their particularfields promptly andeffectively.

Stressing on the phenomenal changes in the climaticconditions in the country, he said that scientists mustcome out with prompt actions that can be taken inorder to maintain and retain the nutritional values ofthe crops more efficiently and effectively.

Dr AK Singh, DDG (Agricultural Extension) andDirector, IARI highlighted that till date, around 16hybrids/composites of Bajra (Pearl Millet) have beendeveloped. He said that this is the sole responsibilityand duty of scientists and researchers to maintainquality of crop. The designated scientists and farmersshould also maintain the quality of the storage systemof the pearl millet which will result in retainingnatural nutritional values of the crop.

Dr RB Singh, Former President, NAAS said that the PearlMillet is the real pearl for the farmers of the country.He stressed that the malnutrition is one of the majorproblems of the country and requires prompt attentionto address it. He said that nutrient rich millet is

The workshop was organized in collaboration withDirectorate of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries,Government of Asom. Shri PN Das, (ACS) Director ofFisheries, Asom, shared his concerns about inabilityto provide the good quality of fish seeds at propertime to the fish farmers when the state is alreadyproducing ` 800 crore fish seed/fry annually.

An interaction session was held for clarifying doubtsof hatchery owners in different aspects ofCIFABROODTM applications, their availability and costsand queries about the possibility of getting the feedon subsidy to senior executive, NFDB were alsodiscussed.



Workshop of AICRP on FarmImplements and Machinery

Rahuri, 8 January 2019. The 33rd workshop of AICRPon Farm Implements and Machinery, which aims toprovide a platform for interaction amongstresearchers, tractor and farm machinerymanufacturers and policy makers, was held at MPKV.The meeting was attended by around 75 participantsfrom Research and Development organisations fromdifferent SAUs, ICAR institutes, and farm machinerymanufacturers etc.

The Farm Machinery Exhibition was also organized atDr ASCAET, MPKV, Rahuri. The “ResearchHighlights…2018” compiled by Coordinating Cell, oneCD on “Khetibadi me Prayukt Hone Wali Urja Kushal

village agri-clinics, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana,etc., are the issues that prove helpful in making theagriculture to be profitable. Besides this, they arealso helpful to intensify the awareness among thefarmers about the various government schemes. TheMinister also released a NAARM hindi publicationtitled “AgRIM” during the occasion.


Scientist-Entrepreneur meet oncamel leather and bone products

Bikaner, 24 February 2019. The ICAR-NationalResearch Centre on Camel, Bikaner organized a“Scientist Entrepreneur Interactive Meet for valueaddition of leather and bone obtained from Camel”

Machinery”, one technical bulletin, one directory offarm machinery manufacturers, three success storiesand three leaflets were also released during thesession. Dr KK Singh, Director, CIAE, Bhopalhighlighted the importance of mechanization inpresent context and appealed the PIs of the projectto accelerate their efforts in delivery of technologies.


Interactive Session at ICAR-NAARM

Hyderabad, 9 March 2019. Shri Gajendra SinghShekhawat, Union Minister of State for Agricultureand Farmers’ Welfare, participated in the InteractiveSession held at ICAR-NAARM.

Shri Shekhawat also had an interactive meeting withthe farmers, farmer associations, scientists of all theICAR Institutes, officials, students, start-ups andState Agri-Allied Sector Universities, etc., located atHyderabad. He highlighted that the marketinfrastructure, farmer centric crop insurance,Minimum Support Price, support to organic farmingincluding input cost, organic produce market, areabased drip irrigation subsidy considering the climaticfactors, promotion of integrated farming system,inclusion of agriculture in MNREGA, FPO promotion,

at its campus.

Dr RK Sawal, Director, ICAR-NRC on Camel said thatbesides being popular the camel leather is speciallyprocessed to be used for the traditional Usta Art ofBikaner. The main aim of the meeting was to addressthe issues of rising demand and the expectations forquality products. The scientists of the Centre andICAR Institutes at Bikaner attended the meeting.

The entrepreneurs and artisans exhibited the variousproducts namely bags, belts, caps, different kinds ofleather purses, folder bag, different kind of shoesetc., prepared from camel bone.



Ranching-cum-Mass awarenessprogramme at Kumbh Mela

Allahabad, 26 February 2019. The ICAR-Central InlandFisheries Research Institute organized a Ranching-cum-Mass Awareness Programme at Kumbh Mela,Sangam, Allahabad.

Shri Prashanna Kumar Patshani, Member of Parliamentand Chairperson of Parliamentary Committee onOfficial Language appreciated the noble cause of themission Namami Gange and briefed the mandate ofthe Namami Gange Project. He expressed concernthat river Ganga is facing threat like industrial andsewage effluents, abstraction in flow of waterthrough constructions of dam and barrages, pollutantdischarge, damage of basin that is affecting theecosystem’s health and loss of biodiversity. Heexpressed deep concerns for restoring the availabilityof indigenous fish in the entire stretch of river Gangathrough the technology and policy initiatives.

He inaugurated the releasing of 15,000 wild stockadvance fingerling of the Indian major carp at thepoint of Sangam Nose, Prayagraj.


National Group Meeting of AICRP

Raipur, 26 February 2019. The National Group Meetingof the All India Coordinated Research Project onForage Crops and Utilization was inaugurated atIndira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur(Chhattisgarh).

Dr SK Patil, Vice Chancellor, IGKV, Raipur highlightedthe need of forage resources and improvedtechnologies for enhancing the livelihood options andincreasing the farmer’s income in Chhattisgarh.

Dr Vinay Jaiswal (MLA, Manendragarh, Chhattisgarh)and Smt Anita Yogendra Sharma (MLA, Dharsiwan,Chhattisgarh) highlighted the importance of foragesand animal husbandry especially with reference toChhattisgarh. They briefed about the stategovernment policies to develop cow shelters andgrassland in each village panchayat which is beingimplemented. They emphasized on the use oftechnologies developed by research organizations toproduce more forages for these livestock. The needof conservation of surplus fodder for lean period wasalso highlighted.

Various publications were released which included theAnnual Report of AICRP on Forage Crops andUtilization, and extension bulletins in regionallanguages by different AICRP centers. Certificates ofappreciation were awarded to BCKV, Kalyani andIGKV, Raipur AICRP centers for their outstandingcontribution. Fourteen varieties in 9 forage crops

including cultivated forage crops, range grasses andlegumes were identified for release in different zonesof the country.


National Consultation onApplication of ICT in Agriculture

New Delhi, 6 March 2019. The Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, New Delhi organized a one-day“National Consultation on Application of InformationCommunication Technology in Agriculture”.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and DG(ICAR) said that over one billion mobile users in thecountry provide opportunity to scientists in using ICTin agriculture for intelligent farming and postproduction management of the produce. The DirectorGeneral stated that there is a bright future foremerging areas of ICT such as artificial intelligence(AI), block chain technology, Internet of Things (IoT)cloud computing and sensor-based precision farmingin agriculture in the country.

Dr Mohapatra said that pan-India presence of ICARInstitutes and KVKs provide ICAR with a uniquestrength in developing the ICT interface with plants,animal, man and machine. He also urged experts todevelop pilot projects to standardize protocols of AIand sensor-based precision farming.

The Director General shared his concerns about thedeteriorating conditions of the natural resources thatcalls for producing more from less by the adoption ofsmart agricultural practices. He said this marks theforthcoming technological revolution in agriculturethat encompasses the use of IoT for ubiquitous datagathering, use of connected farm machineries forvariable rate application of water and fertilizer, useof big data analytics for informed decision makingand timely responsiveness.

Dr Mohapatra also instructed to form an expertcommittee on application of ICTs in agriculture andorganise meetings regularly to expedite thedevelopment in their areas. He emphasized that theaim of future projects should be on developing IoT-based data acquisition and cloud-based data analyticsplatform for the agriculture sector for expediting the


adoption of Smart Agriculture in the country. Mr.Himanshu, Scientist ICAR informed that it is for thefirst time that all computer applications scientists ofICAR have gathered for national consultation onemerging ICTs in agriculture. A team of more than100 computer scientists and experts from ICARparticipated in the meeting and deliberated upon theapplication of Information Communication Technologyin Agriculture.


ICAR-AICRP on fruits organizesSixth Group Discussion

Jorhat, 14 February 2019. The ICAR-All IndiaCoordinated Research Project on Fruits organized theSixth Group Discussion at Assam AgriculturalUniversity, Jorhat.

Dr KM Bujarbaruah, Vice-Chancellor, AssamAgricultural University, Jorhat, underlined thehorticulture sector’s success to increase thehorticulture crops’ production in the recent years.He also stressed on the need for a sustainable system.Dr Bujarbaruah also accentuated the need forquantifying the ICAR-AICRP’s contribution for thesuccess in horticulture sector.

with several other extension folders on differentaspects of production and protection technologies offruit crops were also released during the occasion. Apromising banana grower, Shri Devabrat Rabha fromMadang village, Goalpara (Assam) was felicitatedduring the event for his effort in earning a profit of` 1 crore by adopting the improved technologies thatproved helpful in providing the employmentopportunities to the rural youth. A total of 200delegates from all the coordinating centres includingfarmers attended the event.


Annual review workshop of networkproject

Udaipur, 7 February 2019. The Maharana PratapUniversity of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT),Udaipur organized the Sixth Annual Review Workshopof Network Project on Conservation of Lac InsectsGenetic Resources (NP-CLIGR)” at its campus.

Chief Guest, Dr KK Singh, ADG (FE) highlighted theimportance of conserving bio-resources of thecountry. He also advised for intensifying anddiversifying all the research and developmentactivities and creating enabling across whole valuechain. Dr Singh briefed about AICRP and AINWPprojects in ICAR and urged to provide the conciseoutput to the Council and policy makers.

Dr KK Sharma, PC, NP-CLIGR and Director, ICAR-IINRGshared his concern on depletion of lac insect bio-diversity throughout the country. He also accentuatedon ex-situ and in-situ conservation of lac insect,creating co-operating centres considering agro-ecological zone, the importance of lac in variousfields especially in providing livelihood support totribals and rain-fed farming community.

The occasion also marked the releasing ceremoniesof various publications, viz., “Ber par lac kikheti” and Status of lac insect and host in AridWestern Plain of Rajasthan by MPUAT, Rajasthan;Bulletin on “Economic analysis of lac insecton semialata in Assamese language by AAU, Jorhat .


Workshop of Farmer FIRST and ARYALudhiana, 9 February 2019. The ICAR-AgriculturalTechnology Application Research Institute, Ludhianaorganized the Zonal Review Workshop of Farmer FIRSTProgramme (FFP) and Attracting and Retaining Youthin Agriculture (ARYA) for reviewing the activitiesconducted during the Year 2018-19 under Zone-I.

Dr R Parshad, Former Assistant Director General(Agricultural Extension) stressed on the involvementof farm families selected under the programme as

Dr WS Dhillon, ADG (Horticultural Science - II), ICARstressed on the need to have research programmeson rootstocks, High Density Planting coupled withsuitable training system and ways for reducing thejuvenility in fruit crop production system. He alsoemphasized the need for narrowing down the gap inresearch results’ availability and their application infarmers’ field.

Dr BMC Reddy, Former Vice-Chancellor, DRYSRHUbriefed about AICRP’s historical background of fruitsalong with its impact in different parts of thecountry with regard to spread of technologies.

Dr Prakash Patil, Project Coordinator, ICAR-AICRP onFruits, presented the progress of work done at theparticipating centres on nine fruit crops (mango,citrus, banana, guava, litchi, grapes, papaya, sapotaand jackfruit).

A monograph on insect pests of sapota in India along


International LinkagesGolden Jubilee InternationalSalinity Conference

Karnal, 9 February 2019. The three-day GoldenJubilee International Salinity Conference (GJISC -2019) was organized at ICAR-Central Soil SalinityResearch Institute, Karnal.

The Chief Guest, Professor Ramesh Chand, Member,NITI Aayog applauded the ICAR-CSSRI’s illustriousjourney of five decades that has led to the productiveuse of about 2.14 million ha salt affected area inenvironmentally harsh conditions.

active partners at every stage for improving thelivelihood security in a sustainable way.

Dr Rajbir Singh, Director, ICAR-ATARI also accentuatedon promoting income generating activities, resourceconservation technologies, diversification andintensification to double the farmers’ income.


Group Meeting on Arid Zone Fruits

Parbhani, 23 February 2019. Annual Research WorkersGroup Meeting of ICAR-All India Coordinated ResearchProject on Arid Zone Fruits was held at VasantraoNaik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani(Maharashtra). The 95 scientists of all centres, guests

and university officials attended the 3-day meetingin which research workers presented theirachievements and finalized the technical programmefor the next year (2019) of present and future.

Dr WS Dhillon, ADG (Horticultural Science), ICAR, NewDelhi stated that the AICRP system contributed a lot inthe progress of the horticultural scenario. He said thathorticulture is a vibrant sector and suggested thatefforts should be concentrated on quality productionfor export destinations. He said that, productivity canbe enhanced through use of authentic disease freequality planting material alongwith water and canopymanagement of the arid fruit crops. Dr AS Dhawan,Vice Chancellor urged scientists that arid fruit cropsare future crops in the country’s GDP.


wastes into compost) in order to enhance the soilresilience and crop productivity. He also stressed onfurther strengthening the partnerships betweenresearch institutions and KVKs for quick and effectivedisseminating of improved technologies to farmers’field.

Various recommendations of different technicalsessions of GJISC-2019 were also presented along withrelease of some publications. A total of 275 delegatesfrom 17 countries, CGAIR institutions, ICAR institutes,SAUs, State Line Departments and farmers registeredtheir participation in this event.


Modernization of Indian cropbreeding

New Delhi, 25 January 2019. The ICAR in collaborationwith Bill Melinda Gates Foundation launched a MegaProject on “Application of Next-Generation Breeding,Genotyping and Digitalization Approaches forImproving the Genetic Gain in Indian Staple Crops”.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and DG(ICAR) mentioned that the country is producingaround 285 million tonnes of food grains. He alsotalked about the country’s capability to feed 1.3billion plus populations by its better performance inmilk and animal husbandry sectors. He informed thatthe project will help in digitalization of plantbreeding activities, use of next generation breedingapproaches and advanced genomic tools forenhancing productivity and rapid varietaldevelopment. The DG also released the Project

He mentioned that although ICAR-CSSRI continues tobe one of the global leaders in agricultural salinitymanagement, but its glorious achievements should notlead to complacence; especially with regard to thetime of natural resources getting shrinked at a rapidrate while food demands are growing and diversifying.

He urged to make all possible efforts to convert thewaste into wealth (i.e. conversion of municipal solid


Brochure.

Dr Purvi Mehta, Senior Advisor and Head ofAgriculture for Asia, BMGF regarded ICAR as theglobal player in the field of agriculture research. Shealso mentioned that the project does not only targetthe staple crops, but also the other arenas like animalhusbandry, milk production, livestock, etc.

The project has been implemented with a budgetaryoutlay of ` 51.33 crores. The BMGF has contributed` 27 crores (US$ 4.00 million) with a matching grantfrom ICAR. The knowledge partners include StateAgricultural Universities and Government, Excellencein Breeding Platform, CIMMYT, Mexico and ICRISAT.The project spanning over a period of four years, willaim to optimize conventional breeding pipelinestowards development of consumer-oriented productswhile improving climate resilience, crop productivityand profitability of Indian farmers.


BRAQCON 2019

marine resources worth 28 trillion USD, the fisheriessector contributes significantly towards livelihood forcoastal communities. He mentioned, in India alone,15 million people were directly involved in fisheriesactivities and many more millions are involved inother ancillary activities related tofisheries andaquaculture. The fisheries sector has the lowestcarbon footprint. He stressed on the importance tocreate a separate Fisheries Ministry in Governmentof India, which had been promised in 2006 by thecabinet minister to agriculture at that time, whileinaugurating the National Fisheries DevelopmentBoard.


Assessors Training Organized by FAO

Kochi, 21 January 2019. Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) organized an Assessors Trainingfor Principal Investigators of Indian Network forFisheries and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance(INFAAR) on FAO Assessment Tool for Laboratories andAntimicrobial resistance surveillance system (FAO-ATLASS) at one of its Nodal Centre ICAR-CIFT, Kochi.About 20 project Investigators associated with theINFAAR project from different ICAR research institutesof fisheries and animal science all over India activelyparticipated in the training programme. Five FAOexperts who imparted training to the participantsincluded Dr Joy Gordoncillo, Dr Michael Treilles, DrFrancesca Latronico, Dr Rajesh Bhatia, Former AMRAdvisor and Dr Rajesh Dubey, National OperationalOfficer, FAO, India.

Chennai, 23 January 2019. The World BrackishwaterAquaculture Conference (BRAQCON 2019), wasinaugurated by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary,DARE and DG, ICAR. In his valedictory address, DrModadugu Vijay Gupta, the World Food Prize Lauretecongratulated ICAR-CIBA and Society of CoastalAquaculture and Fisheries (SCAFi )for organizing thisworld conference on Brackishwater Aquaculture atappropriate time. His major concern on the brackishwater aquaculture is the exclusive dependence onone single species, the pacific white shrimp, Penaeusvannamei. He highlighted that, we have not used anyother species, although we have number of potentialspecies, which could be used for enhancingproduction and productivity of the aquaculture sector.With regard to issues raised and the recommendationsof the BRAQCON 2019, he encouraged organizers ofthe conference to identify the right institutions totake it further forward for implementing therecommendations. It is paramount for the fruitfulrealization of the BRAQCON 2019.

He further said that with a value of coastal and

Chief Guest Dr JK Jena, DDG (Fisheries and AnimalSciences), ICAR, New Delhi stressed the need for thesurveillance of disease in fisheries and animal sectorsas it is the key for AMR management. He said thatproduction of shrimp, the major export item wasbeing badly affected by diseases since last twodecades. Early mortality syndrome in fisheries andFMD in animal sector have been the major menace.Intensification and diversification in farming sectorand evolving climate change are primarily responsiblefor diseases emergence in these sectors. Over-use ofantibiotics in aquaculture has aggravated the problemof AMR in fisheries.


Dr Ravishankar CN, Director, ICAR-CIFT highlightedimportance of surveillance and appraisal ofAntimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in fisheries and animalsectors and its containment in perspective humanhealth in general and fisheries and animal health inparticular. He also dealt at length on the contributionof the institute for fisheries development inchronological perspective. FAO experts drewattention on issues of AMR right from mythical natureto subject of priority issue and were optimistic ofmutual benefits likely to be derived from the trainingprogramme.


Asian Soil Partnership Meet

New Delhi, 26 February 2019. The Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, New Delhi organized the5th Meeting of Asian Soil Partnership (ASP) of Foodand Agricultural Organization (FAO) including SteeringCommittee Meeting of Centre of Excellence of SoilResearch in Asia (CESRA) at National AgriculturalScience Centre Complex, New Delhi.

7th Pan Commonwealth VeterinaryConference

Bengaluru, 3 March 2019. The ICAR-National Instituteof Animal Nutrition and Physiology hosted the 7th PanCommonwealth Veterinary Conference (PCVC7). TheConference titled “The role of veterinarians inaddressing the global challenges to the lives of ourpets, livestock, wildlife, humans and ourenvironment” was jointly organized by Common-wealth Veterinary Association (CVA), ICAR-NIANP;Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries SciencesUniversity (KVAFSU); Karnataka Veterinary Association(KVA) and Pet Practitioners Association of Karnataka.

Two dedicated workshops on Animal Welfare Researchand Working Equines were organized during theoccasion. The PCVC7 provided a perfect platform tothe delegates to share, exchange and gather currentknowledge and future opportunities in the differentfields of veterinary and allied sciences.


Regional Expert ConsultationInternational Meet

New Delhi, 27 February 2019. The Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi and Networkof Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA),Bangkok, Thailand jointly organized an Internationaltwo-day ICAR-NACA Regional Expert Consultation Meeton “Genetically Responsible Aquaculture:sustainability of genetically fit brood stock and seedof certified origin in Asian aquaculture”.

The programme was conducted by the ICAR-NationalBureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknowwith an aim of identifying the several missingcomponents in the current aquaculture productioneconomy of Asia and global South region.Approximately 90% of the global aquacultureproduction is the product of sustainableintensification of aquaculture of the region.


The four-days long Meeting aimed to fulfill themandates of Global Soil Partnership (GSP) that aims forimproving the governance of the limited soil resourcesof the planet in order to guarantee the agriculturallyproductive soils for a food secure world. It also aimedto support the other essential ecosystem services inaccordance with the sovereign right of each country/state over its natural resources.


MoUs

ICAR and ILRI inks MoU

New Delhi, 25 February 2019. Dr Trilochan Mohapatra,Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR), and Dr Iain Wright,DDG (Integrated Sciences), International LivestockResearch Institute (ILRI), Nairobi signed a mutualMemorandum of Understanding at Krishi Bhawan, NewDelhi.


The MOU includes four years (2019-2022) Work Planfor undertaking collaborative research programmesbetween Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) and International Livestock Research Institute(ILRI), Nairobi.

Shri Sushil Kumar, Additional Secretary (DARE) andSecretary (ICAR); Dr JK Jena, DDG (Animal Sciences),ICAR; Dr H Rahman, Regional Representative, SouthAsia, ILRI at New Delhi and other dignitaries werealso present.

The major areas of collaborative research identifiedin the Work Plan are Animal Disease Economics;Backyard Poultry Genomics; Methane Emission and itsMitigation; Improvement of Basal Feed Resources andCapacity Development and other activities.


ICAR inks MoU with CSIR

New Delhi, 25 February 2019. The Memorandum ofUnderstanding was signed between Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi and Councilof Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi

at ICAR Headquarters, Krishi Bhawan.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and DG(ICAR) and Dr Shekhar C Mande, Secretary (DSIR) andDirector General (CSIR) agreed to collaborate andwork together on mutually agreed areas of agri-foods,medicinal and aromatic plants, nutraceuticals,precision agriculture, big data analysis, use ofartificial intelligence, genetic modifications incotton, application of sensors in agriculture, post-harvest management and agricultural mechanization.


Capacity Building

Transfer of rural technology

Arunachal Pradesh, 12 February 2019. ICAR- CentralInstitute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin incollaboration with KVK, Balek, Lower Dibang Valley,Arunachal Pradesh organized demonstration of smokecuring fish in hygienic conditions and distributed 15Community Fish Smoking Kilns (COFISKI) units. Theprogramme as part of CSR Scheme of Coal IndiaProject “Community Fish Smoking Kilns for betterhealth, hygiene, quality product with longer shelflife, sustainable income generation and lesser carbonfoot print for hinterland women fishers belonging to

economically under-privileged SC and ST groups” wasorganized at KVK, Balek. Dr MM Prasad, PrincipalInvestigator of Project and HOD, MFB Division, ICAR-CIFT and Dr TJ Ramesha, Head, KVK, Balek appraisedSmt Mitali Namchoom, IAS, Lower Debang Valley onthe developmental programmes undertaken by ICAR-CIFT in harvest and post harvest fisheries in LowerDebang Valley as a part of NEH programmes ofGovernment of India.

Smt Oimang Lego of Jiya Village narrated herexperience of journey of success and encouragedwomen of Lower Debang Valley to become rolemodels of the country. Delivering the Presidentialaddress Dr MM Prasad said women of ArunachalPradesh in particular and NE Region states in generalare leading in different walks of life. The Chief Guestof the function Shri Tapik Pertin, ADC, Roing said thatICAR-CIFT needs all appreciations for the supportprovided to women fishers of Lower Dibang Valleyand opined that women fishers are becoming trainersand are able to train other fisherwoman resulting inbetter development of the fisheries sector. Latercertificates were issued to beneficiaries along with15 numbers of COFISKI units worth ` 8 lakh includingkits to handle smoke cured fish.



Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawatinaugurates Administrative Building

Jodhpur 27 February, 2019. Shri Gajendra SinghShekhawat, Union Minister of State for Agricultureand Farmers’ Welfare inaugurated the AdministrativeBuilding of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jodhpur - II(Phalodi).

Dr AA Zynudheen, Principal Scientist and I/c QAMDivision, ICAR-CIFT, Kochi explained the technicaldetails of the technology on “fish waste conversionto feed” and how it can be implemented at a largerscale at fish markets and harbours where tonnes ofwaste gets generated.

The programme was well attended by fishermen,market vendors, representatives from fish processingindustry and the general public.

The inaugural function was followed by ademonstration on the technology on conversion offish waste to feed. Dr Zynudheen and Dr Binsiconducted the demonstration assisted by Shri Ajeesh,Shri N Sunil and Shri Rahul Ravindran, TechnicalAssistants of the Institute. The questions of theparticipants were answered by the scientists of CIFT.


Fish vending kiosk and solar-electrical hybrid dryer launched

Kochi, 18 February 2019. ICAR-Central Institute ofFisheries Technology, Cochin has developed arefrigeration enabled mobile fish vending kiosk toimprove the unhygienic handling and marketingpractices of fisher folk, small scale vendors andretailers. The main components of the kiosk arechilled storage cum display facility, hand-operateddescaling machine, fish dressing deck with washbasin, water tank, waste collection chamber andworking space. In this unit, consumer can see thefishes directly through transparent glass cover andselect according to their choice of purchase. Thekiosk has provision for descaling, cutting, cleaning,and packing operations. Under ideal operatingconditions, the unit can extend shelf life of fish for4 to 5 days and increase marginal benefit to fishvendors. In addition to this, 20 kg solar-electricalhybrid dryer was launched for hygienic drying of fishand fishery products to get quality dried products.The kiosk and dryer were launched by Dr RavishankarCN, Director ICAR-CIFT.


Mini fish processing unit atKadamakkudy

Kochi, 13 February 2019. ICAR-CIFT, Cochin launcheda Mini Fish Processing Unit and Custom Hiring Centreat Kadamakkudy village, near Varappuzha, Ernakulamin a function attended by budding entrepreneurs,people’s representatives, Kudumbasree members,teachers and students of VHSC, Kadamakkudy andscientists from ICAR-CIFT. The Processing Unit andCustom Hiring Centre are output of the fisheryentrepreneurship project started by ICAR-CIFT atKadamakkudy in 2017. On this occasion, two fish

Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat urged farmers forusing the Soil testing facilities and ensuring the useof balanced fertilizers as per the soil analysis basedon Soil Health Cards. Shri Shekhawat also urged thefarmers to get benefited by the recently launched“Kisan Samman Nidhi” Scheme.


Fish waste utilization programme

Kochi, 30 January 2019. Under the Swachhta ActionPlan, a sanction of ` 10.00 lakh was received byICAR-CIFT, Kochi for implementing the “Managementand commercial utilization of waste in 20 fishmarkets (10/Year) in urban locations” from theCouncil. Under the programme it was envisaged tocover 20 fish markets/fish landing centres located insix states namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat along withtwo markets at Delhi. Procurement of model kitconsisting of equipments/tools for demonstration ofthe technology on conversion of fish waste to feed/manure was made. A processing line including meatmincer for preparation of fish silage from fish wastewas perfected and tested for field trials.


dryers of 10 kg capacity each and two sets of MiniFish Processing Unit consisting of 21 implementseach, were handed over to the PTA of VHSC,Kadamakkudy.

Dr AK Mohanty, Head, EIS Division informed that ICAR-CIFT has also taken initiative for conducting studieson market feasibility and consumers’ behaviortowards fish-based food products and gender roles infish entrepreneurship among stakeholders atKadamakkudy.


Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawatinaugurates CAZRI Road

through ethno-veterinary approach Dr S SatheeshKumar, Professor and Head, Division of Departmentof Gynaecology, TANUVAS, Chennai was presented byDr NKS Gowda and Dr K Giridhar, Principal Scientistsof ICAR-NIANP presented talks on nutrition of dairycalves and recent developments in fodder quality andmanagement, respectively. A low cost hydroponicgrain sprout unit was demonstrated in the seminar.


Foundation stone of womentrainees’ hostel

Bhubaneshwar, 26 February 2019. Honorable UnionMinister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, ShriRadha Mohan Singh laid down Foundation Stone ofICAR-CIWA Women Trainees’ Hostel through E-plaque from ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack. During the occasion,the Minister also visited the ICAR-CIWA Institute.

While interacting with the staff members of CIWA,Shri Radha Mohan Singh also encouraged scientists todevelop some women-friendly novel farmingtechnologies. The Minister accentuated about theCIWA’s significant role in the upcoming Krishi UnnatiMela in motivating the nation’s women farmersthrough easy and innovative farming techniques.

He also urged scientists to design a model of 1-2acres of integrated farming with women-friendlytechnologies at the Institute’s farm in order to helpthe farmers learn about managing their locallyavailable resources scientifically. The Ministerhighlighted about the importance of terracegardening, urban horticulture, mushroom farming andvalue addition with special reference to banana fruitand pseudostem processing as successful enterprisefor women groups.


DG, ICAR inaugurates Coastal AgriExpo 2019

Goa, 2 March 2019. Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary(DARE) and DG, ICAR inaugurated the Coastal AgriExpo 2019 at ICAR–Central Coastal Agricultural

Jodhpur, 5 March 2019. Shri Gajendra SinghShekhawat, Honorable Union Minister of State forAgriculture and Farmers’ Welfare inaugurated theCAZRI Road at ICAR-Central Arid Zone ResearchInstitute, Jodhpur. The road outside the main gate ofICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpurwas named as CAZRI Road.

The Minister applauded CAZRI’s contribution in thefield of arid agriculture. Shri Shekhawat applaudedthe Mayor for naming the road in the name of CAZRI,on an auspicious occasion when the institute is itselfcelebrating the Diamond Jubilee Year of itsestablishment.


Productivity in bovines

Karnataka, 19 January 2019. A technical seminar on“Role of nutrition in augmenting fertility andproductivity in bovines” was organized at ICAR-NIANP,Bengaluru in association with Karnataka MilkFederation (KMF). About 150 field extension officersof different milk unions of Karnataka attended theseminar. Dr DN Hegde, Director, Animal Husbandry,KMF was the Chief Guest and Dr Raghavendra Bhatta,Director, ICAR-NIANP presided during the inauguralfunction. A talk on fertility management in bovine


Research Institute Old Goa. The Expo is jointlyorganized by ICAR-CCARI, and Association for CoastalAgricultural Research, Old Goa, Goa. The Expo isorganized with a central focus on agriculture,livestock and fisheries in the coastal region of thecountry. Dr Mohapatra stressed that ‘disseminationof the technologies through platforms like expo’s ormela is one important way to create awarenessamong farmers and other stakeholders’.

A three-day workshop on “Coastal agriculture forsustainable production vis-à-vis doubling farmer’sincome” and the farmer-Scientist interaction was alsoorganized.


A visit to the experimental farm of the Institute wasalso organized during the event where scientistsintroduced newer research and development.


Awareness camp for fisheries tribals

West Bengal, 6 January 2019. The ICAR-Central InlandFisheries Research Institute organized a two-day massawareness camps at Amtoli and Kochukahali, Gosabablock of Sunderban, West Bengal.

The camps were organized in collaboration with thelocal NGO “Sunderban Dream” under TSP. Dr BK Das,Director, ICAR-CIFRI urged women participants tocollectively start intervention of fisheries in theutilized canals of Sunderbans to enhance theproduction. He also emphasized on conserving fishdiversity and importance of small indigenous fish onhuman nutrition.

A Farmers-Scientists’ Interaction Session was alsoheld. The scientists of ICAR-CIFRI provided solutionsto several queries related to fisheries development.

A tribal dominated district in Gujarat, one of thepromising CIFRI technologies namely “CIFRI PenHDPE” was demonstrated in Karjan reservoir in theNarmada District. The occasion also marked releasingceremony of fish seed in the CIFRI Pen HDPE installedin Karjan reservoir which will help in enhancing thefish production in Karjan reservoir and benefit 200tribal fishers.


Seeds released into sea to boostmarine production

Kochi, 7 March 2019. In a major effort to increasethe marine production, the ICAR-Central MarineFisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) released seedsof shrimp, cuttlefish and squid into the sea. TheMandapam Regional Centre of the ICAR-CMFRIreleased a total of 11 lakh seeds of green tiger shrimp(Penaeus semi-sulcatus) was released at VillundiTheertham, Palk Bay, while the Tuticorin ResearchCentre of the Institute conducted the sea ranching ofcuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) and squid (Sepioteuthislessoniana) at Tuticorin.

A regular activity of the ICAR-CMFRI, the sea ranchingis aimed at increasing the production of these speciesto ensure the livelihood of fishermen in the regions.This will also help in conserving and maintainingsustainability of the stocks in the wild.

When the fishermen venture into the sea for fishingafter fishing ban period, these shrimps will beavailable to support their livelihood.During 2017-18,Mandapam Centre had released 1.7 million seeds ofgreen tiger shrimp into the sea in Gulf of Mannar andPalk Bay region and 1.4 million seeds of the speciesin 2018-19 at Kunthukal (Gulf of Mannar) andSangumal (Palk Bay).


Plant trees,Conserve water,

Protect environment.

CelebrationsPradhan Mantri Kisan SammanNidhi Programme and Kisan Mela

Bhubaneshwar, 24 February 2019. The ICAR-CentralInstitute for Women in Agriculture, Bhubaneshwararranged the live telecast of Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi launching ceremony at its campus.

National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack.

The Minister discussed about the variousachievements of the government’s flagship schemesto the agriculture and allied sectors. In his address,he also gave an account of several farmers’beneficiary schemes like e-NAM, MSP, RKVY, NFSM,NHM, PMKSY, PMFBY etc., which are benefitingmillions of farmers across the country. The Ministerfundamentally accentuated on villages and farmers’development for achieving the goal of inclusivenational development.

Guest of Honor, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, UnionMinister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and SkillDevelopment and Entrepreneurship accentuated thefunctional and technical linkage between Agricultureand Petroleum Ministries. The Minister opined onusing major portion of agricultural wastes to generateenergy. He mentioned that such initiative would be asignificant move for augmenting the farmers’ incomeand will help to make India independent in the energysector.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and DG(ICAR) underlined ICAR’s various researchachievements to achieve the national food andnutritional security and bring the prosperity andeconomic security to our farming communities.

The Union Ministers jointly inaugurated the newly built‘Central Genomics and Quality Laboratory’ of theinstitute, a first of its kind in the country. Theydedicated the laboratory to the farmers of the nation.

Several public amenities like Arunodyoy Post Office,Cuttack Railway Station, foundation stones layingceremony of ICAR-CIWA Guest House and Shishu Sadanat KG National Memorial Trust, Satyabhamapur, etc.,were also jointly inaugurated by Union Ministers. Theextension of one train and new stoppages of twotrains through the e-Plaques were also announced byUnion Ministers. Over 20 Divyangs were distributedaids and appliances by Union Minister as a CSRinitiative by ONGC. The Union Ministers alsofelicitated the 10 best farmers and farm women forusing innovative practices in farming to double uptheir farm income.


Poorwanchal Kisan Mela and KrishiPradarshani

Gorakhpur, 3 March 2019. Shri Radha Mohan Singh,Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfareand Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of UttarPradesh, jointly inaugurated the Poorwanchal Kisan


It was out of four States, viz. Kerala, Karnataka,West Bengal and Odisha, that the ICAR-CIWA gotidentified as the nodal institute for arranging the liveinteraction of Honorable Prime Minister with thefarmers in Odisha in the form of live webcast thatwas participated by about 1,500 farmers, Governmentofficials and scientists.

Chief Guest, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, UnionMinister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’Welfare outlined the importance of several newlylaunched schemes of the Government along with thePradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi to DoubleFarmer’s Income by the Year - 2022.

During the live webcast, one of the progressivefarm women, Smt Gouri Mohapatra of Nuasahi villageof Puri District interacted enthusiastically live withthe Honorable PM and expressed her gratitude forthe benefits that she availed from the severalGovernment schemes that are aimed at doubling thefarm income. The farming community was vividlyexplained about the scheme’s benefits, thus addingnew dimensions to their existing pattern of assistancein agriculture from the Central Government.


Kisan Mela in Cuttack

Cuttack, 26 February, 2019. Shri Radha Mohan Singh,Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfareinaugurated the Kisan Mela organized at the ICAR-

Mela and Krishi Pradarshani organized by MahayogiGorakhnath KVK, Gorakhpur.

The Kisan Mela and Krishi Pradarshani wereorganized in collaboration with the ICAR-AgriculturalTechnology Application Research Institute (ATARI),Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Administrative Building ofMahayogi Gorakhnath KVK, Gorakhpur was alsoinaugurated by the dignitaries. Shri Radha MohanSingh urged the farmers to get benefited by thevarious agricultural schemes being announced by thecentral government. The Minister urged for promotingthe intercropping and mixed cropping system forminimizing the risk of crop loss. Shri Singh also urgedthat the animal rearing and organic farming must gohand-in-hand.

Shri Yogi Adityanath said that KVKs are theinnovative institutions at the district level. Therefore,there is a need to up-scale its benefits for the largenumber of farmers of the district. The Chief Ministeraccentuated on organizing a large number ofawareness campaigns at the village level in order tohelp the farmers get benefited from them. Shri Yogiurged farmers to get benefited from the variousbeneficiary schemes that are aimed for upliftmentand improve the farmers’ income at least by twofolds.

Shri Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of Agriculture,Agricultural Education and Research, Government ofUttar Pradesh accentuated that farmers who are usingimproved agricultural technologies are getting theenhanced production. He also stated lack ofremunerative price to such farmers leads to thediscouragement in adopting improved technologies.The Minister stressed upon the inter-department andinstitutional convergence at the district level toarrange marketing facilities, input procurement andensure the related logistics.


Tripura Krishi Unnati Mela – 2019

Tripura, 1 March 2019. The first Tripura Krishi UnnatiMela (TKUM) - 2019 was organized by Tripura Centreof ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hills

Region at the Centre.

Shri NC Debbarma, Minister of Revenue and Fisheries,Tripura appreciated ICAR for organizing the “FirstTripura Krishi Unnati Mela - 2019” at Lembucherra.He said that more emphasis should be given onagriculture in Tripura. The Minister said that one thirdof Tripura’s land being cultivable, the farmers shouldtake multiple crops and adopt diversified integratedfarming system that comprises of crop, horticulture,livestock and fisheries for food, nutritional security,higher income and minimal risks from climaticadversities.

Dr PK Pandey, Dean, College of Fisheries,Lembucherra stressed on scientific fish-farming toenhance the farmers’ income. He also said thatbesides producing fish, a small pond in everyhousehold could be used for life saving irrigation.

A total of 15 deliberations from experts from ICAR,Universities, College of Agriculture, College ofFisheries, Department of Horticulture, Fishery,NABARD and other organizations were organised. TheHorticulture Research Station, Nagicherra bagged thefirst prize among the Government exhibition stalls.


PUSA Krishi Vigyan Mela - 2019

New Delhi, 5 March 2019. Dr Trilochan Mohapatra,Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR) inaugurated the PUSAKrishi Vigyan Mela - 2019 at Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute (IARI), New Delhi.

Dr Mohapatra applauded the institute’s efforts oforganizing such knowledge gaining event for theagricultural and farming community.

Dr Mohapatra lauded PUSA’s contribution in making thecountry food-sufficient in its real terms and emphasizedon the efforts that needs to be taken promptly in orderto promote the practices of precision farming on a largescale across the agricultural and farming community ofthe country. He said that there is also a need for thepromotion of censor-based irrigation like facilities too


that can truly come fruitful in lessening down theburden of farming community and increase theirproductivity in a long run.

Dr AK Singh, DDG (Agricultural Extension) andDirector, IARI accentuated that the agricultural melais one of the best place for the exchange of varioustechnologies of agricultural and farming communities.He said that Mela is like a Kumbh where experts ofthe different fields of agriculture, farming,technologies, policies, etc., meet, share andexchange their valuable expertise in the particularareas of research with each other.


International Women’s Day – 2019

ICAR HQ and ICAR Institutes, 8 March 2019. Everyyear 8 March is celebrated as International Women’sDay all over the world with enthusiasm. The themethis year was, “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovatefor Change”. ICAR Institutes also marked thecelebrations of International Women’s Day - 2019.

ICAR-NIASM, BaramatiThe Institute arranged live streaming of theHonorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’saddress to the nation from National WomenLivelihood Meet, Varanasi. The programme registereda total participation by 150 participants including 90women working in various capacities. The functionconcluded with the recital of national anthem.

ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research,PedavegiThe Institute organized Essay Writing Competition andExtempore during the occasion. Dr Ravi KumarMathur, Director, ICAR-IIOPR felicitated the winnersof the competitions during the closing ceremony.

ICAR-ATARI, LudhianaThe Chief Guest, Dr GS Khush, World Food Laureateapplauded the farm women for participating andexhibiting their ventures.

Dr Arbinda K. Padee, IAS, Director Country Relation


and Business Affairs, ICRISAT, New Delhi discussedabout two products namely “Healthy Snack” and“Smart Breakfast” based on sorghum and milletsdeveloped by ICRISAT which are beneficial for thefamily’s health. He said that the institute is workingtowards preventing the malnutrition and thedegradation of the environment.

Dr Rajbir Singh, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Ludhianaunderlined the various activities that are carried outby KVKs of Zone-I for the empowering farm women.He stressed on importance of knowledge of healthydiet among women.

ICAR-NAARM, HyderabadDr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, NAARM accentuatedthe women’s role as the managers in home and work.The Director applauded the women’s capability toknow how to adapt to the different situations athome or work. For making the occasion a memorableone, the Director also provided the Women Cell incollaboration with the farm section the responsibilityof Amla and custard apple orchard development. DrRao released a book on “Women in Agriculture (TheInvisible Partners in Development)”.

ICAR-DOPR, Rajendranagar, HyderabadThe Director discussed about the variousresponsibilities of the working women. He alsoapplauded the women staff’s contribution and urgedthem for working for the development of theinstitute.

ICAR-CIAE, BhopalThe ICAR-CIAE arranged the live webcast. Theoccasion also marked the exchange of success storiesof women groups during the interaction session.The programme coordinated by Dr DebabandyaMohapatra, Chairperson, Women’s Cell registered anactive participation by the Heads of Divisions, PCs,Incharge of various sections and all administrativeand technical staff of the institute.

ICAR-IINRG, RanchiDr KK Sharma, Director, ICAR-IINRG accentuated onthe transformative shifts to advancing the genderequality and empowering women. He stressed on theimportance of balance in equality for the society.The Director also said that the women are betterthan men in many fields. A debate on the relevanceof the idea of International Women’s Day Celebrationwas organized.

The occasion marked certificate distributionceremony for women trainees for completing one-week training programme on “Scientific method ofLac Cultivation, Processing and Utilization”.

ICAR-CIFA, BhubaneshwarThe Chief Guest, Dr SN Mohanty, Head, Obstetricsand Gynaecology, Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneshwar


emphasized on importance of women health andhygiene. Dr Mohanty stressed on physiologicaldevelopment of women in different phases and needto maintain good health for development of a healthynation. The participants of different competitionsnamely Elocution, Quiz, Rangoli, Crafts, Salad Platingand Mehendi, etc., were given prizes.

ICAR-CIWA, BhubaneshwarThe Chief Guest, Dr Anil Kumar, Director, I/C, ICAR-CIWA urged women to take their own stand in societyand fight for their fundamental human rights. TheDirector also emphasized on the line of Simone deBeauvoir, “One is not born but becomes a woman”.

Guest of Honor, Ms Sneha Mishra, Secretary, AAINAlauded the work done by the institute for farmwomen. Ms Mishra urged to have equal balancebetween both genders with regard to responsibilitiesin life. There was a lecture on “Genesis ofInternational Women’s Day” by Er. Chaitrali S Mhatre.

ICAR-CIAE, BhopalInternational Women’s Day was celebrated at ICAR-CIAE. Not only women staff but male employees also

attended the webcast program. The success storiesof women and the motivational speech of HonorablePrime Minister inspired the staff.


National Science Day

Hyderabad, 28 February 2019. The ICAR-NationalAcademy of Agricultural Research Management,Hyderabad organized the National Science Daycelebrations at its campus. The programme wasorganized in order to commemorate the greatcontribution of noble laureate Sir CV Raman.

Dr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, NAARM advised thestudents to get the benefits of the latest scientifictechnologies wisely and never get themselvesaddicted to the technologies. Dr Rao motivated thestudents towards the bright career aspects in thefield of science and also underlined the farmers andagriculture’s importance for the nation.

Dr SK Soam, Joint Director highlighted the importance

of science in day-to-day life. He also discussed aboutthe bright career options for youth in agriculture. Acampus tour was also organized during the occasionto explain the participating students about thevarious units like vermi-compost, water harvesting,pits, nursery, sports, water purifying plant andinfrastructure facilities. The students were explainedabout ways to grow nursery and its propagation.


Foundation Day Celebrations

ICAR-CIAE, BhopalBhopal, 15 February 2019. ICAR-Central Institute ofAgricultural Engineering, Bhopal, celebrated a two-day programme to commemorate its 44th foundationday.

Dr KK Singh, Director, ICAR-CIAE presented variousachievements of the Institute in terms of contributionto development of farm machinery custom hiringcenters, soy processing units, farm machinery testingfacility and organization of training to farmers andtrainers.

Professor Panjab Singh, Chancellor, Rani LaxmibaiCentral Agricultural University, Jhansi focussed on thecontribution of ICAR technologies in modernizationof Indian agriculture and its effectiveness in bringingself-sufficiency in food thereby generating confidenceto pass and adopt the ambitious “Food Security Act”.He also narrated that future agricultural technologieswill be an amalgamation of space, nano, robotics,

precision farming and artificial intelligence whileproviding cost effective solutions for small andmarginal farmers. Dr Nawab Ali delivered the‘Foundation Day Lecture’, wherein he deliberatedupon stage-wise development of the institute andfuture challenges. Prizes and awards were bestowedfor various annual events and the staff membersserving for more than 25 years were given recognitionof service.

On February 16, 2019, ICAR-CIAE organized ‘Agri-Tech-Expo’ themed at ‘Farmers’ Prosperity throughAgricultural Mechanization’, Farmers’ interactionmeet and Academia-Industry Interaction Meet in thepremises of the Institute. Dr KK Singh stated in his


inaugural speech about the progress made by Instituteon development of new agricultural machines and itsextension by showcasing new CIAE technologies. Heemphasized that the forum of agricultural exhibitionalong with panel discussion help farmers to knowabout new agricultural machinery.

One of most vibrant Machinery Expo ‘Agri-Tech-Expo’was organized by the institute on this occasion,wherein around 40 manufacturers from the countryparticipated. The ICAR-CIAE also displayed anddemonstrated the recently developed advancedtechnologies.


ICAR-NRC on MeatHyderabad, 22 February 2019. The ICAR-NationalResearch Centre on Meat, Hyderabad celebrated its12th Foundation Day.

The Chief Guest, Shri Akhil Kumar Gawar, Director,Telangana State Food Processing Society, Departmentof Industries and Commerce, Government of Telanganadelivered his talk on the “Future challenges,researchable areas in meat sector”. He also urgedscientists to develop the burning socio-scientificconsumer need based research projects concerningmeat quality, meat industry and policy matters. TheChief Guest also conferred certificates to trainees forsuccessfully completing their entrepreneurshiptraining on “Value added meat products processing”held from 18th to 22nd February-2019.

Guest of Honor, Dr Asha Martin, Principal Scientist,CFTRI, Mysuru delivered a lecture on “Ensuring FoodQuality and Safety”. She discussed about importanceof food in nutrition, safety issues associated withthem, future food, role of FSSAI as regulatory bodyand its food safety related guidelines, etc. Thelecture also discussed about need of collaborativeresearch work between CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru and ICAR-NRC on Meat, Hyderabad.

The occasion also held an open day program forchildren from various schools of Chengicherla.


ICAR-CMFRI, KochiKochi, 5 February 2019. The ICAR-Central MarineFisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) opened its doorsfor students and public on the occasion of its 72nd

Foundation Day celebrations at its Headquarters inKochi and Regional Research Centres. The Open Houseprogramme evoked a huge response from the publicto enjoy the ringside view of marine wonders and tolearn the latest developments in marine research.Nearly 5000 people visited the Headquarters of theinstitute located in Kochi, to watch the splendours ofaquatic organisms in the sea and to interact withscientists.

The huge crowd was awestruck by the giant-sizedNapoleon Wrasse, weighing 35 kg, at the NationalMarine Biodiversity Museum at the CMFRI. The CMFRImuseum is the national designated registry of marinespecies which has a collection of around 3000 marinespecimens. CMFRI also arranged a display of pelagic,demersal, molluscan and crustacean fishery resources

such as dolphin fish, rare species of sharks and rays,giant tiger shrimp and giant-sized crabs.

Visitors displayed keen interest in understanding thefunctioning of fish ageing laboratory of CMFRI. Theyinteracted with scientists and engaged in discussionson issues and challenges being faced by marinefishery of the country. Laboratories related tomolecular biology, bioprospecting, cell culture,fishery biology, environmental research, climatechange, ocean acidification etc., also were openedto public during the programme.

The foundation day was also celebrated in allRegional Research Centres located in Veraval,Mumbai, Karwar, Mangalore, Calicut, Vizhinjam,Chennai, Tuticorin, Mandapam, Visakhapatnam andDigha, and the field centre in Puri and the KVK ofICAR-CMFRI in Ernakulum by conducting similar openhouse programmes, attracting the public to view andunderstand the research activities of the institute.



Success StoriesEnhancing livelihood through oystermushroom cultivation

The mild climate of Ranchi offers suitable conditionsfor successful cultivation of oyster mushroom(Pleurotus spp) for a prolonged period. Although,mushrooms growing in the wild have a presence inthe gourmet of local population, commercialmushroom cultivation is at its infancy in this area. Itscultivation does not require much inputs in terms ofinfrastructure, water and labor. It can be successfullydone with moderate skill and training. Ranchi beinga capital city has easily accessible market formushroom. The ICAR Research Complex for EasternRegion, Research Centre, Ranchi, under the FarmerFIRST Programme, focused on promotion of mushroomcultivation as an entrepreneurial activity for thewomen farmers in a cluster of four villages viz.Kutiyatu, Malti, Pindarkom and Tetri, situated withina distance of 10 km from Ranchi city.

Mrs Suman Lakra, a resident of Malti village growsvegetables in her homestead garden and sells thesurplus in the nearby weekly haat. From a total landholding of 6.4 acres (low and medium land 5 acre,upland 1.4 acre), she and her husband used to earnnearly ` 85,000/year from crops and animalhusbandry. Her husband, Shri Mahavir Lakra also earnsadditional income of ` 18,000/year by working asdaily wage labour in Ranchi. This income was notsufficient to cater to the need of her family of fivemembers. Inspired by the effort of ICAR RCER, RC,Ranchi, she started cultivation of oyster mushroom inone room of her house with the help of her husband.She has developed a facility for installing 25 bags perweek in succession using her own paddy straw. Herfirst batch was harvested in 2nd week of January,2019 and since then she has been harvesting on anaverage of 5-6 kg/day. She follows all therecommended post harvest practices includinghygienic harvesting and packing in neatly intransparent polythene bags. Her husband takes theproduce in nearby market and weekly haat, and earnsnearly ` 500-700/day. For the initial two batches,the entire inputs were supplied by ICAR, RCER,Plandu. After that Mrs Lakra arranged for all theinputs by herself. From first month onwards, shecould earn gross income of ` 15,000- 17,000/- permonth and net profit of ` 11,000 to 13,000/- permonth. Estimation of biological efficiency in hermushroom production unit indicated a value of morethan 80%. Keeping in view the availability of paddystraw to the tune of nearly 4 tonnes after fulfillingthe requirement of animal feed, she can continuewith the same quantum of production by utilizing herown paddy straw. Apart from this, employmentopportunity of more than 100 numbers of additionalmandays can be generated for her family membersper year. Similarly, estimation of water use efficiencyindicated nearly 7.4 litres/kg of mushroom which ismuch lower as compared to other crops.

At present, Mrs Suman Lakra has become a role modelfor other tribal women of surrounding villages.Encouraged by her success, seven other womenfarmers from the surrounding villages have alreadystarted commercial production of oyster mushroom.According to Shri Mahavir Lakra, the unit can ensureadequate employment for himself and he will not berequiring to go to Ranchi town anymore in search ofjob. With strong technological backstopping andavailability of quality mushroom spawn, from ICARRCER, RC, Ranchi, it is hoped that many more womenfarmers will be taking up mushroom cultivation as anentrepreneurial activity in the adopted villages andother villages located in the peri-urban areas ofRanchi.


The activity was initiated with a sensitizationprogramme by organizing ‘Mushroom day’ at Kutiyatuvillage in collaboration with TSP programme of AICRPon Mushroom in December. Based on the response ofthe farmers, three more training programmes wereconducted in the subsequent week at ICAR RCER,Research Centre, Ranchi where women farmers wereprovided hands-on training on oyster mushroomcultivation. Participants were trained on differenttechniques like preparation of mushroom bags,aftercare of the bags during incubation, harvestingand packaging. In order to motivate and mobilizewomen farmers for undertaking mushroomcultivation, ten numbers of mushroom bags wereinstalled in the homes of each of forty interestedfarmers. Regular visits were made to all thesefarmers in order to provide any need based supportand keep their morale high. At the time of harvest,they were trained about hygienic harvesting andpackaging practices before taking their product tothe markets.


Litchi: A success story

Litchi cultivation is localized to only few pockets inIndia. Recent efforts by ICAR-National ResearchCentre on Litchi, Muzaffarpur in identifying patchessuitable for litchi cultivation shows that litchi can begrown well in non-traditional areas of South India,either as sole or mixed plantations with coffee inparts of Coorg in Karnataka, Wynad in Kerala andLower Puleny hills, Kallar and Burliar of Nilgiri hills,besides some parts of Kanyakumari district of TamilNadu.

In these regions, litchi trees flowers in the month ofAugust - September and fruits mature in the monthof December and January in contrary to April andMay in Northern India. Shahi, Rose Scented, EarlySeedless, Dehradun, Maclean, Green and Calcuttia arethe varieties grown with good fruit quality. Climaticsurvey in high altitudes of Southern India (Karnataka,Kerala and Tamil nadu) revealed the potentiality ofthese regions in producing quality fruits that was atpar with fruits produced in Northern India. Bybreaking the seasonlity barriers, it was observedthata difference of 6.50 °C in temperature and981.99 mm rainfall between the traditional and non-traditional litchi growing areasis the prime factorstriggering flowering in litchi (Fig.1). The places withmore than 900 m MSL like Coorg, Kelpata, Iduki, Ootyare good for off season (November-January) litchiproduction in India. The potential area of litchicultivation in South India includes Coorg, parts ofChikmagulur and Waynad.

In Coorg and Wynad areas it is estimated that morethan 200 growers are growing litchi on a smaller scalewith 1-10 trees in their gardens/plantation/backyard. But there are few farmers who have planted 1acre to 10 acres of litchi as intercrop with coffee. InWynad district of Kerala, Mr Kuruvilla Joseph, asuccessful litchi grower explored benefits of off-season litchi. Not many farmers in South are awareof litchi and benefits of its plantation. He growscoffee, cardamom and pepper, apart from litchi,mangosteen and rumbutan. His success in litchicultivation inspired a lot of people in Wynad andCoorg to take up farming of this fruit through bestpractices and reap its benefits. Mr Ahmed Kuttydeveloped keen interest and dedication in litchifarming. With the intervention of NRCL, the goodmanagement practices were adopted. After gettingtraining, he is now able to develop litchi gootees/air-layersand established 15 acres plantation of Shahiand China cultivars in his farm at Vythiri and Mepadi.He adopts girdling technology for ensuring floweringand expressed his contentment with the resultsachieved. The scientists of ICAR – National ResearchCentre on Litchi is regularly monitoring theperformance of litchi in his farm couple with handson training which ultimately lead to yield fruits in2018-19 in a recorded time. Mr Kutty was able toharvest 1 ton of fruits from his plantation which has

started yielding fruits in the fourth year in Decembermonth. As such, there was a growing demand of litchiplanting materials among growers. Since availabilityof genuine and quality planting materials is aproblem, and looking at the hurdles faced during railand road transportation, a group of growers fromKarnataka air-lifted freshly detached litchi air layersfrom ICAR – NRCL, Muzaffarpur within 24 hours, witha success rate in survival of air layers to the tune of80%.

In collaboration with CHES (ICAR-IIHR) Chettalli,training programmes on technology dissemination andfield day was organized. During, a national dialogueon Improving productivity and utilization in litchi heldat ICAR-NRCL, litchi growers from Kerala and Tamilnadu were invited and issues and prospects of litchicultivation was presented. The problems of batsattack and fungal infection on fruits owing to heavyrains were highlighted and accordingly, solutions fortackling the same were addressed. The interests inlitchi cultivation among farmers of these non-traditional belts have developed and ICAR-NRCL hasbeen instrumental in imparting hands on training andknow-how with regards to scientific litchi cultivation.To promote litchi cultivation in these areas, the ICAR-NRCL has supplied more than 20,000 litchi plants togrowers, in the last couple of years and has targetedto double the quantum of supply of planting materialsin the coming years. Litchi cultivation is gainingpopularity in this area and has potential for providinglitchi during off season which certainly helps in cropdiversification and income enhancement of farmersof these areas.


Make in India—Makhana MachineGorgon nut or makhana is a seed of an aquatic plantgrown mainly in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Tripuraand Odisha. In Bihar alone about five lakh familiesare directly involved in makhana cultivation, itsharvesting, popping, and produce selling.Traditionally makhana seeds are roasted and poppedmanually in a 3 stage manual process — the seeds areroasted at very high temperatures ranging from 250


to break the hard roasted seeds for popping. Thereis no human intervention between roasting andpopping. This system has also reduced the processtime from 2 to 3 days to only about 20 hours. Thecapacity of the popping operation has been increasedby about 8 times. The quality and market value ofmakhana produced using the mechanized process ismuch better than the manually popped makhana. Thismachine is now commercially manufactured and hasbeen installed in several makhana growing areas.

The machine was launched on December 3, 2013 byResearch Centre for Makhana Darbhanga, Bihar.Demonstrations and trainings were conducted inDarbhanga and Madhubani districts of Bihar.Entrepreneurs from Madhubani, Saharasa (Bihar),Indore (MP), Lucknow, UP have purchased themachine commercially and thus the technology hassolved a long due indigenous problem of manualpopping of indigenous crop. A full line comprisingthreshing, cleaning, drying, grading, roasting andpopping is being established at CIPHET Ludhiana fortraining and demonstration purposes. Government ofBihar has started giving subsidy and National Researchand Development Corporation (NRDC), Governmentof India has given Societal Innovation Award in 2014to CIPHET. Economic analysis of about ` 15 lakhinvestment as fixed cost and about ` 5 lakh asworking capital per month, indicates that break evenpoint will reach in 6 months and profit will bemanifolds, besides giving employment to rural youth.It is a blockbuster technology of CIPHET, Ludhianaand users have rightly named it “Vardan”. After thisdevelopment, ready-to-constitute makhana kheer(milk based pudding) mix was developed from thesecond or third grade of makhana.


to 320oC, tempered for 2 to 3 days, roasted againand popped manually using a mallet. Malleting afterroasting requires highly skilled workers because fewseconds delay in malleting will result in poor qualitypopped makhana resulting in huge monetary losses.Open fires by burning wood and agricultural wastesare used for roasting purposes. Experienced poorfishermen in makhana growing areas are employedfor such cumbersome operations.

To save fishermen from the toil and drudgery, and toproduce high quality makhana for domesticconsumption and export market a completelymechanized system for roasting and poppingoperations has been developed and commercializedby the ICAR’s Central Institute of Post-HarvestEngineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana. Themechanized model developed by ICAR has roastingand popping unit. The roasting is done in closedbarrel using electic heated thermic oil. Thermallyinsulated barrel saves the worker from intensive heatand malleting does not require at all as hot roastedseeds automatically hit a closed casin within seconds

VisitsDG, ICAR Visits

ICAR-NAARMHyderabad, 22 February 2019. Dr Renu Swarup,Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry ofScience and Technology, Government of India andChairperson, BIRAC visited ICAR-NAARM’s BusinessIncubation a-IDEA sponsored by ICAR, DST and BIRAC,DBT (Bio Nest).

Dr Swarup also interacted with couple of start-upsviz., Bharat Rohan and Robic Rofarm, who are beingsupported by a-IDEA in the different areas in agri-value chain.

She accentuated the support by DBT and BIRAC to theAgri based start-ups in more effective ways, provideda strong action plan from the Incubators like a-IDEA. Dr Swarup also visited a-IDEA partner, Agri Biotech

Foundation (ABF) and inspected the wet lab facilitiesand work of Start-ups. The Director, NAARM briefedthe Chief Guest about the vision and mandate ofinstitute. He emphasized on the ICAR-NAARM being aunique institute engaged in capacity building ofNARES scientists, Research Policy (think-tank) of ICARand Agri-business management education.


KVK NamsaiArunachal Pradesh, 16 February 2019. Dr TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR) visitedKVK Namsai. Accompanied by Dr A Arunachalam,Principal Scientist and ADG (IR), Dr Mohapatrareviewed ongoing activities of KVK and visitedinstructional farm, Soil testing Lab, Animal Healthclinic, demonstration units and skill developmentfacilities created by the KVK.


While interacting with scientists, Dr Mohapatra urgedto develop farmer’s friendly techniques and focus onfarmers’ centric research. He also emphasized on soilmapping of Namsai district, farmer’s digital card anddissemination of agriculture technologies on farmers’mobile by utilization of information communicationtechnologies efficiently. Dr A Arunachalam urged toestablish the Agroforestry block and bio fencing orgreen fencing farmers’ field. Dr H Kalita, JointDirector, ICAR RC NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar gavean overview of mandate, achievements and vision ofthe KVK.


ICAR-NRC on Meat, HyderabadHyderabad, 18 January 2019. Dr Trilochan Mohapatra,Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR) visited ICAR-NRC onMeat, Hyderabad and inaugurated the newlyconstructed auditorium at ICAR-National ResearchCentre on Meat, Hyderabad.

Dr Mohapatraappreciated the qualityof work and itscompletion of theproject withinscheduled time. Heurged scientists forproper sampling,recording, maintenanceon par with globalrequirements anddevelop alternativetechnologies forvalidation of meatspecies and sexdetermination methodsincluding development of field usable kits. Hehighlighted the importance of traceability in meatvalue chain and its role in domestic and export market,biomarkers for buffalo breed differentiation,metabolic profiling of meat and meat products andidentification of bioactive peptides and othernutritionally important compounds, zoonotic diseasesand ensuring microbial safety.

The DG released the “NABL accreditationcertificate” awarded to “Meat speciation” laboratoryof the NRC on Meat; “Technology Booklet” and abrochure published by ABI, NRC on Meat.


Secretary, DADF and Chairman,MPEDA visited ICAR-CIFT

Kochi, 11 January 2019. Shri Tarun Shridhar, IAS,Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy andFisheries (DADF), Ministry of Agriculture and FarmersWelfare along with Shri KS Srinivas, IAS, Chairman,MPEDA, Cochin, visited the ICAR-Central Institute ofFisheries Technology, Kochi. Shri Shridhar applaudedthe research accomplishments of ICAR-CIFT for itsoutstanding research in harvest and post-harvestsectors in fisheries. He also suggested the pluralisticconvergence of different agencies working in thesame line for bringing more visibility in the fisheriessector and check unnecessary wastage of resourcescaused due to duplication of work.

Training

While citing the excellent contribution made by ICARfor introducing the Benami prawn culture and fishdisease surveillance, Shri Tarun urged thestakeholders of central and state governments forgreater collaboration in strengthening the blueeconomy initiative of the government.


Dehradun, 7 February 2019. The ICAR-Indian Instituteof Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun organizedthe Passing out the function of 119th batch of 4months “Certificate Course on Soil and WaterConservation and Watershed Management”. The fourmonth programme was organized in the institute from8 October 2018 to 7 February 2019 at the Institute’sHeadquarters, Dehradun.


Munnar, 8 February 2019. The ICAR-Directorate ofCold Water Fisheries Research, Bhimtal, Nainitalorganized a three-day “Rainbow trout (O. mykiss)Demonstration-cum-Training Workshop” for theofficers and workers of Kannan Devan HillsPlantations Co Pvt Ltd at Rajamallay Trout Hatchery,Munnar, Kerala.


Odisha, 8 February 2019. The ICAR-Central Instituteof Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar under theScheduled Tribe Component (TSP) organized a threeday “Hands-on-training on Integrated Aquaculture

Superannuation

Name, Designation and Address Date, superannuation

Dr P Chodappa, 11.01.2019Director (VRS)CPCRI, Kasargod

Dr Bramhadev Patnayak, 31.03.2019Project DirectorPDFMD, Mukteshwar

Personnel

Published by Dr S.K. Singh, Project Director (DKMA), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan I, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012,Lasertypeset by M/s Xpedite Computer Systems, D-20, 2nd Floor, Ranjit Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi 110 008 and printed at M/s Royal OffsetPrinters, A-89/1, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 028.

Editing: Ms Seema Burman • Design and Production: Dr V.K. Bharti and Kul Bhushan Gupta

Editorial Board

ChairmanDr Trilochan Mohapatra

Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR

MembersDr K. Alagusundaram, DDG (Agricultural Engineering)

and (NRM)

Dr J.K. Jena, DDG (Fisheries Science) and(Animal Science)

Dr A.K. Singh, DDG (Horticultural Science) and(Crop Science)

Dr A.K. Singh, DDG (Agriculture Extension)

Dr N.S. Rathore, DDG (Agricultural Education)

Member-SecretaryDr S.K. Singh, Project Director (DKMA), ICAR

Ph: 25842787, [email protected]

Based Livelihood Development” programme atGajapati District On-site training and demonstrationprogramme on “Scientific Aquaculture Methods” wasorganized in Suluba village, Mohana block.


Dehradun, 12 February 2019. A ten-day training on,“PRA and Micro Watershed Planning” was organizedby the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and WaterConservation (ICAR-IISWC), Dehradun in collaborationwith MANAGE, Hyderabad. The ten-day programmefocused on different aspects of Participatory RuralAppraisal (PRA), basics of Watershed Management,convergence and networking for watershedmanagement, delineation and watershedcharacterization, hands-on experience in GIS andremote sensing, etc.


Kochi, 23 February 2019. The ICAR-Central MarineFisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi conducteda three-day Skill Development Programme for theyouth in the Kadamakkudy Panchayat with aim tohelp them become small-scale entrepreneurs in cagefish farming.


Guwahati, 26 February 2019. The ICAR-AgriculturalTechnology Application Research Institute (ATARI),Zone - VI, Guwahati organized a one-day TrainingProgramme for Sensitizing the Nodal Officers ofDistrict AgroMet Units (DAMU) under KVKs of ATARIZone - VI, Guwahati at ICAR-CIFRI Regional Centre,Guwahati.


Gangtok, 2 March 2019. The ICAR-National OrganicFarming Research Institute, Tadong, Gangtokorganized Training-cum-Frontline Demonstration

Hyderabad, 6 March 2019. A 21-days TrainingProgramme was conducted for Graduating Studentsof Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU)on Entrepreneurial Skill Development by ICAR-NAARMconcluded.

Programme on “Organic Vegetable Production for theprogressive farmers of Lingdok, East Sikkim”.


The programme was conducted under NAHEP-Institutional Development Plan (IDP) scheme.

email: director.naarm.org.in

from the dgs desk news in brief · 2019. 5. 29. · paddy straw has high cellulose and...

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