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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – The agriculture ministry aims to scale up bio-fortified or climate-resilient wheat varieties to cover 80% of the area under the crop this year to enhance nutritional content, boost farm productivity, and improve realisations for farmers, a senior government official told Informist. Last year, 70% of the area under wheat was covered with such varieties, the official said. 

 

These seed varieties, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, are being distributed in clusters. According to the official, such varieties have characteristics such as heat tolerance, enhanced protein content, and increased levels of zinc and iron, or a combination of all these micronutrients.

 

"The aim is to be able to develop and promote varieties which do not just give food but also nutrition, while increasing yields," the official said. Such varieties are currently being promoted in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, he said. 

 

The aim is for such wheat to be bought by big processors such as ITC or Patanjali, and help farmers record more gains. "Any wheat coming to mandis will be sold at the same prices. We are propagating such seeds in clusters so that big chains procure from them," the official said.

 

India is already using modified varieties to produce Sharbati wheat and durum wheat, which is used to produce sooji, and dicoccum wheat, used in the production of pasta and breads. All this produce goes directly to big-chain retailers.

 

"Such modified seeds are the future of crop production in the country with our agriculture facing excessive challenges due to weather woes. These varieties have lower sowing durations, can be drought and heat-resistant, while also having higher resilience for pest attacks," the official said.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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