HONORABLE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES
(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
(a) and (b) Yes Sir, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is implementing a scientists farmers
partnership scheme named as Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network
(Biotech-KISAN), which aims to link innovative agricultural technologies with farms to benefit
small and marginal farmers in all agro-climatic zones of the country including Uttar Pradesh and
North East Region (NER). The scheme provides funding for the establishment of Biotech-
KISAN Hubs in different agro-climatic zones in the country. Under this programme, so far 36
Biotech-KISAN Hubs have been established covering all 15 agro-climatic zones in the country.
The activities of the programme have been implemented in 170 districts including 112
Aspirational Districts and have benefitted over 2,00,000 farmers directly or indirectly.
Under the above scheme, four Biotech-KISAN Hubs have been established in the state of
Uttar Pradesh, which is helping in understanding the local issues of farmers and providing
scientific solutions to them. These Biotech-KISAN Hubs are located at ICAR-National Bureau
of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur; Foundation for Advancement of
Agriculture and Rural Development (FAARD Foundation), Varanasi; Indian Society for Human
and Rural Advancement (ISHARA), Deoria; and Foundation for Agricultural Resources
Management and Environmental Remediation (FARMER), Ghaziabad. The activities of Biotech-
KISAN Hubs are being implemented in a total of 20 districts including seven Aspirational
Districts of Uttar Pradesh. In the NER, Biotech-KISAN Hubs are located at ICAR Research
Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya and Assam Agricultural University, Assam.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established a network of 725
Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) at the district level in the country mandated with technology
assessment and demonstration for its application and capacity development. There are 88 KVKs
in Uttar Pradesh and 89 KVKs in North Eastern Region (NER). The KVKs organize
demonstrations, training programs, awareness programs, and skill development programs (for
promoting various modern agricultural technologies for the benefit of farmers, farm women, and
rural youth).
(c) Yes Sir, the programme makes provision of local hubs to collaborate with scientific
institutions and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Leading scientific institutions such as ICARIndian
Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University,
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh; West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata; Bihar
Agricultural University, Sabour; Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar; ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important
Microorganisms (ICAR-NBAIM), Uttar Pradesh; Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana;
ICAR Research Complex for NEH, Umiam, Meghalaya; ICAR-Central Island Agricultural
Research Institute (CIARI), Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands; ICAR-Research Complex
for Eastern Region, Patna; Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station (ICAR-NRRI),
Hazaribag, Jharkhand; ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stress Management, Raipur; Regional
Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Station, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack
Odisha; Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Odisha; Indira Gandhi Krishi
Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Krishak Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh; Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central
Agricultural University (RPCAU), Muzaffarpur. Bihar along with 60 Krishi Vigyan Kendras
(KVKs) located in 21 states / UTs are associated with the programme.
(d) The main aim of launching the Mission Programme on Biotech-KISAN is to connect
science laboratories with the farmers to find out innovative solutions and technologies to be
developed and applied at the farm level. The programme aims to work with small and marginal
farmers especially the woman farmers for better agriculture productivity through scientific
intervention and evolving best farming practices by linking available science and technology to
the farm by first understanding the problem of the local farmer and providing solutions to those
problems. The significant achievements of the programme since its inception include: revival of
grass pea cultivation and its popularization amongst farmers of Bihar, utilization of rice fallows
for enhancing pulse production in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, empowerment of women
farmers through scientific goat and sheep rearing in Sundarbans, promotion and popularization
of good agricultural practices (GAPs) for seed spice cultivation amongst farmers of Western
Rajasthan for getting a premium price for agriculture produce, scientific pig rearing for
livelihood improvement of tribal farmers of Meghalaya, production of quality planting material
(QPM) of Malbhog variety of banana and its cultivation in Assam, promotion of conservation
agriculture practices in rice-wheat and soybean-wheat cropping system in the state of Madhya
Pradesh, etc.
(e) The DBT has also taken steps to use Biotech-KISAN Hubs as test beds for testing,
validating, and demonstrating various innovative technologies at the farmers’ level, which are
developed by various organizations. The programme also provides support for conducting
training programmes for farmers in laboratories of scientific research institutions and immersion
of scientists in agriculture farms to better understand the problems of farmers at ground level and
find solutions for the same. Recently, a project on the popularization of bio-fortified maize
hybrids (rich in important amino acids and pro-vitamin A) among farming communities has been
initiated in Himalayan states and Central India with special reference to North Eastern Region
for sustainable nutritional security.
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