Lok Sabha Question No. 2385 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-06
Subject: National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri P V Midhun Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2385

TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  AUGUST, 2024

## NATIONAL INNOVATIONS IN CLIMATE RESILIENT AGRICULTURE

2385.  SHRI P V MIDHUN REDDY:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ षि और ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) the  salient  features  of  National  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture' (NICRA);
- (b) the achievements of flagship network project in the last three years;
- (c) the  budget  allocated  and  utilised  under  NICRA  project  during  the  last  three years, year-wise;
- (d) whether there was less utilization of funds during the said period, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps taken for optimum utilization of the allocated funds?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ षि और ककसान कल्याण राज्य मंत्री (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

- (a) Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR),  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and Farmers Welfare, Government of India launched a flagship network project namely National Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA)  in  2011.  The  project aims to develop and promote climate resilient agriculture to address vulnerable areas of  the  country  and  help  the districts  and  regions  to  cope  up  with  extreme  weather conditions  like  droughts,  floods,  frost,  heat  waves,  etc.  The  project  has  three components viz. strategic research, technology demonstration and capacity building. The  main  thrust areas covered  are (i) identification of the most  vulnerable districts/regions,  (ii)  development  of  crop  varieties  and  management  practices  for adaptation & mitigation and (iii) assessment of climate change impacts on livestock, fisheries and poultry vis-a-vis identification of adaptation strategies.
- (b)   Major Achievements of this flagship project during the last three years are:

- Assessed risk and vulnerability of 573 predominantly agriculture districts as per Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocol. A total of 109  districts  are  categorised  as  'very  highly'  and  201  districts  as  'highly' vulnerable.
- Developed and released 10 climate resilient crop varieties (7 in rice, 1 in wheat and 2 in tomato) tolerant to drought, salinity and high temperatures.
- Identified  6  brinjal  rootstocks  for  waterlogging  tolerance  and  5  brinjal rootstocks for water stress conditions.
- Developed Pusa Sanjeevni, a microbial formulation with 6 months shelf life for abiotic stress tolerance.
- Developed three climate smart implements viz., pneumatic seed planter cum dibbler,  rotary  tiller  assisted  broad  bed  former  cum  seeder,  and  liquidfertilizer applicator.
- Developed Composite Drought Index (CDI) was developed for assessing drought vulnerability for the drought prone region of Karnataka.
- Prepared risk map of classical swine fever for the state of Assam, African swine fever for north-eastern hill region and avian influenza for pan India.
- Technologies and disease modelling methodologies were established for 15 animal diseases using machine learning methods.
- Developed Hazard Atlas based on the hazards vulnerability index for the coastal districts.
- Standardized package of practices for Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA).
- Updated District Agriculture Contingency Plans for 452 districts.
- Identified promising climate resilient technologies for 15 States (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,  Kerala,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Punjab,  Rajasthan,  Tamil  Nadu,  Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha) and shared with the respective State Governments for further upscaling.
- 4795  demonstrations  were  conducted  on  various  technologies  related  to natural  resource  management,  crops  and  livestock  components  involving 1,95,871 farmers.
- 4124  Capacity  building  programmes  were  conducted  benefiting  1,28,500 stakeholders.

(c) to (e): The details of budget allocated and utilized under NICRA project during the last three years (Rs. In crores) is as follows:

| Year    |   Sanctioned |   Utilized |   %Utilization |
|---------|--------------|------------|----------------|
| 2021-22 |        47    |      46.06 |             98 |
| 2022-23 |        40.87 |      40.44 |             99 |
| 2023-24 |        48.15 |      47.44 |             99 |

The fund utilization during the said period was optimum, which was ensured by close and regular monitoring.

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