Boost Farm Productivity: Agri Minister Calls for Research Review

New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) Stressing the need to boost agricultural productivity through research, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday directed officials to assess the performance of the country's 113 research institutes and identify gaps in achieving their objectives.

Chairing a meeting with senior officials from the agriculture ministry and research bodies, Chouhan said, "We should assess whether our network of research institutes has been able to give the expected results, is it working properly or not...If there are gaps, a detailed report should be submitted".

The minister emphasised setting clear targets for increasing farm productivity and incomes by 2047, which marks 100 years of India's independence. He called for annual reviews to track progress against these targets.

Chouhan highlighted the lower productivity in irrigated and non-irrigated areas of Jharkhand compared to other parts of the country. He suggested launching a campaign to bridge this productivity gap.

The minister directed officials to focus research efforts on increasing productivity, boosting farmers' incomes, and reducing production costs. He also stressed promoting bio-fortified crop varieties among different segments of farmers.

Union Ministers of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Chaudhary, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja, and Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR Himanshu Pathak attended the meeting.