Question : Funding in Agricultural Research

(a) the amount of money spent on funding agricultural research, in terms of GDP contribution;

(b) whether the Government plans to increase it further, and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the steps undertaken by the Government to improve the quality of agricultural research and infrastructure in existing agricultural bodies; and

(d) whether the Government is undertaking foreign collaborations with think tanks and research institutions to improve quality of agricultural research, and if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
(SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) The public money spent on agricultural research and education to total of agricultural gross domestic product in India was 0.67% during 2017-18 at current prices.

(b) The public spending on agriculture is subject to availability of funding with the Government. The public expenditure on agricultural Research and Examination has increased over years in absolute terms. The public budget for agricultural research and education increased from Rs.115.44 billion in 2014-15 to Rs. 173.60 billion (at current prices) in 2017-18.


(c) To improve the quality of research in agriculture and build a storehouse of advancement of knowledge of the national importance, the Department invites and funds proposals on competitive basis at national level for Basic, Strategic and Frontier Application Research in Agriculture, where institutions under NARS, autonomous organization including IITs etc are participating. The Government has also been forward looking to improve existing infrastructure quality of agricultural research over years. Computerization and digitization of research system including administrative system along with equipment and chemicals are some examples of modernization of research system.

(d) The Government of India has been collaborating with foreign research institutions/ universities in all fields of sciences including agriculture to improve quality of research outputs. The CGIAR institutions, FAO, UNIDO, OECD, West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), Kansas State University, USA, Wenger-USA, African - Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), SAARC Regional Networks, ICRISAT, CIMMYT, AIT, CIRAD, IDRC, IRRI, SAREC and USAID etc. from European, American, African and Other Asian Countries. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP), Asia Pacific Network for Testing Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM), and other international institutions are active partners of DARE/ICAR and have several memorandum of understanding (MOU) with foreign collaborators.

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