New Delhi, January 5 (IANS). India has overtaken China to reach the first position in the world in rice production. This information was given by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
The Union Minister said that India has reached the first position in the world in rice production with 150.18 million tonnes. At the same time, China’s rice production has been 145.28 million tonnes.
Chauhan said that India has achieved this success through the development of high yielding seeds. Additionally, the country is now also a major rice exporting country to world markets.
The Union Minister launched 184 improved varieties of 25 crops developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at an event held in the national capital. These 184 varieties include 122 cereals, 6 pulses, 13 oilseeds, 11 fodder crops, 6 sugarcane, 24 cotton and one variety each of jute and tobacco.
The Agriculture Minister directed the officials to ensure that these new varieties reach the farmers quickly. Explaining the importance of new improved varieties, Chauhan said that farmers will benefit from them as they will help in getting higher yields and better quality crops.
The Union Minister also asked agricultural scientists to focus on increasing the production of pulses and oilseeds to make India self-reliant.
Chouhan said 3,236 high-yielding varieties have been approved in the last 11 years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power, while only 3,969 varieties were approved between 1969 and 2014.
The newly released varieties have been developed to address the challenges faced by the agriculture sector such as climate change, soil salinity, drought and other biotic and abiotic stresses as well as to promote natural and organic farming practices.
–IANS
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