India: Three New Ag Research Institutes For ICAR

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|12 May 2009

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is setting up three new research institutes to focus on biotechnology, biotic stress and abiotic stress, says Express News Service. The Council is also planning to introduce fellowships for post graduate and doctoral (PhD) programs for students from both developed and developing countries.

At the 44th All India Rice Research Group Meetings at Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Director-General of ICAR Mangala Rai said that the transgenic culture is attaining greater importance in agriculture. He emphasized that agricultural scientists working on rice should turn their research focus towardsthe effect of global climatic changes on productivity and yield loss.

Urging scientists to come out with new agronomic practices useful for yield increase, ICAR Deputy Director General (Education and Crop Science) S.P. Tiwari said that ICAR is coming up with many research projects for new knowledge development and breakthroughs in rice production. ANGRAU Vice-Chancellor P. Raghava Reddy stressed the need for research in breeding varieties suitable for low intensity areas and improved water management practices, saying that research should focus on mechanization and post-harvest technology to overcome labor constraints and production of cost effective rice varieties.

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