(a) whether the Indian Agriculture Productivity is below the international standards/norm;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether any agriculture research and development scheme undertaken to raise the agricultural production to the level of international standards during the last three years and the current year; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY
OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (PROF. K.V. THOMAS)
(a) & (b): Our agriculture productivity is less in some of the crops and commodities
in comparison to international standards, as Indian farming is predominantly rainfed
farming and dependent on unpredictable monsoon rains. Besides, our input in terms of
fertilizer use, micronutrient use, seed replacement rate etc are much less as compared
to a number of other developed and developing countries. Even the crop duration is
important for increasing productivity. For example, wheat varieties grown in China
in winter produce more, but take longer duration (270 days) as compared to Indian wheat
varieties which take less time (150 days) to mature. Similar is the case in many other
crops. Our crop productivity per unit area, per unit time and per unit energy is very
much comparable to world scenario.
(c) & (d): Yes, Madam. The DARE/ICAR is constantly striving to achieve excellence
in agricultural production. In the recent past, DARE/ICAR has released/identified 96
varieties/hybrids of crops, such as Bt. Gene Cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis), Bikaneri
Nerma resistant to boll worm. Besides, production of quality seeds of field crops has
reached a record level of 0.85 lakh tonne during 2008-09.
In Fisheries Sector, through freshwater aquaculture, early breeding of Catla and
Rohu has been achieved, paving the way for year-round availability of their seed.
In Animal Science Sector, ICAR has achieved a unique scientific landmark in the
birth of cloned buffalo calf for the first time in the World and also launched quality
animal seed production programme in sheep, goat, pig and poultry. DARE/ICAR has also
developed a good number of tools, implements, processes and pilot plans like zero till
drill, strip till drill, pneumatic planter, manure spreader etc. which have helped the
farmers in enhancing their agriculture production.
DARE/ICAR is working in frontier areas of research viz. marker assisted selection,
stem cell research, nanotechnology, cloning, genome resource conservation etc so as to
enhance agricultural production. DARE/ICAR in the XI Plan has established a National
Institute of Abiotic Stress Management in Maharashtra to address the issues related to
impending climate change and two institutes namely National Institute of Biotic Stress
Management and Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology are in the pipeline for
undertaking high quality research. In addition, the Central Government has launched
several schemes including Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, National Horticulture Mission
and National Project for Soil health and Fertility for enhancing agricultural productivity.