Page 617 - ES 2020-21_Volume-1-2 [28-01-21]

244 Economic Survey 2020-21 Volume 2

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

7.30 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is a premier research organization for
coordinating, guiding and managing agriculture research and education including in horticulture,
fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. A total of 172 new varieties/hybrids of field
crops and 75 horticultural crops were notified/released till October, 2020 during the current
year. Since, May 2014, National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the leadership
of ICAR has released and notified 1406 varieties of different field crops. As on 27.11.2020, the
Council had also developed 17 biofortified varieties of field and horticulture crops to ensure
nutritional security through the natural food system in the year 2020-21, taking the tally of
biofortified varieties to 71.

7.31 The Council has produced 115707 quintals of breeder seed of 1330 varieties of 51 field
crops. These were distributed to various public and private seed production agencies for
multiplication of foundation and certified seeds. In case of vegetatively propagated field crops,
fruits, vegetables and plantation crops, 169 lakh planting materials and 8.0 lakh tissue culture
plantlets were also produced for farmers.

Natural Resource Management and Integrated Farming

7.32 The Council has developed 60 location specific, cost effective, eco-friendly, socially
acceptable multi-enterprise Integrated Farming System (IFS) models in farmers’ participatory
mode to reduce risk in farming, enhance farm productivity/profitability and secure livelihoods
of resource poor small and marginal farmers. Bio-intensive cropping systems having higher
productivity potential for different agro-climatic zones have been included in the crop production
guide /package of practices of respective states.

7.33 The Council has developed an agri-voltaic system to generate electricity in interspace
area of crops and to harvest rainwater from top surface of photovoltaic (PV)-module has been
designed. It is a step towards achieving the ambitious target of 100,000 MW of solar PV based
power generation capacity in the country and doubling the farmers’ income.

Demonstration and Upscaling of Climate Resilient Technologies

7.34 Climate resilient technologies are being demonstrated in 446 villages and up-scaled in
about 300 cluster villages in the country. In 2020-21 (till 27.11.2020), 16355 demonstrations
under Natural Resource Management (NRM) module covered 12453.93 ha area; 25325
demonstrations under crop productions technologies covered 9061.34 ha area and 48846 farm
animals were covered under livestock and fisheries module for vaccination, demonstration on
feed supplementation, etc. Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) organized 1644 training programmes
on climate resilient agriculture involving 42655 farmers. A total of 4367 extension activities
were organized to create awareness on successful climate resilient practices and technologies
benefiting 80684 farmers.

7.35 In addition, 651 contingency plans have been prepared for use by the state agriculture
departments in the event of weather aberrations and extreme climatic events.