Lok Sabha Question No. 3811 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-12
Subject: Research activities by National Agricultural Research Council
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Ashish Dubey

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3811

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## RESEARCH ACTIVITIES BY NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

## 3811. SHRI ASHISH DUBEY:

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

- (a) whether the National Agricultural Research Council is creating latest research on a large scale across the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (c) the progress report of the last ten years of ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research (ICAR-DWR) and Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) operating in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b): Yes, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its network of 113 institutes spread across the various states focus on various aspects of agricultural research, from specific crops to animal sciences and fisheries. Some notable examples are the development of bio-fortified and climate resilient varieties, improved farm implements, integrated farming practices, enhancement of product  quality  and  value  addition  through  processing,  improving  livestock  breeds,  developing vaccines & diagnostic kits, enhancing the quality of dairy products etc. Further, a network of 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) also, established in the Country that demonstrates and provide training on the advanced agricultural technologies and practices as well as helps in capacity development of farmers. State wise details of ICAR Research Institutes and KVKs are at Annexure-I .
- (c): The details of the activities  of  ICAR-DWR and ATARI, Jabalpur during last ten years are at Annexure-II .

******

## Annexure-I

## [Part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha USQ No. 3811 dated 12 TH  AUGUST, 2025]

## State Wise ICAR Institutes and KVKs List

| S.No.   | State                    | ICAR Institutes and ATARIs   |   KVKs |
|---------|--------------------------|------------------------------|--------|
| 1.      | Andaman &Nicobar Islands | 1                            |      3 |
| 2.      | Andhra Pradesh           | 2                            |     24 |
| 3.      | Arunachal Pradesh        | 1                            |     17 |
| 4.      | Assam                    | 2                            |     26 |
| 5.      | Bihar                    | 4                            |     44 |
| 6.      | Chhattisgarh             | 1                            |     28 |
| 7.      | Delhi                    | 7                            |      1 |
| 8.      | Goa                      | 1                            |      2 |
| 9.      | Gujarat                  | 2                            |     30 |
| 10.     | Haryana                  | 6                            |     18 |
| 11.     | Himachal Pradesh         | 2                            |     13 |
| 12.     | Jammu & Kashmir          | 1                            |     20 |
| 13.     | Jharkhand                | 3                            |     24 |
| 14.     | Karnataka                | 6                            |     33 |
| 15.     | Kerala                   | 5                            |     14 |
| 16.     | Ladakh                   | -                            |      4 |
| 17.     | Lakshadweep              | -                            |      1 |
| 18.     | Madhya Pradesh           | 6                            |     54 |
| 19.     | Maharashtra              | 11                           |     50 |
| 20.     | Manipur                  | -                            |      9 |
| 21.     | Meghalaya                | 2                            |      7 |
| 22.     | Mizoram                  | -                            |      8 |
| 23.     | Nagaland                 | 1                            |     11 |
| 24.     | Odisha                   | 5                            |     33 |
| 25.     | Puducherry               | -                            |      3 |
| 26.     | Punjab                   | 3                            |     22 |
| 27.     | Rajasthan                | 7                            |     47 |
| 28.     | Sikkim                   | 2                            |      4 |
| 29.     | Tamil Nadu               | 2                            |     32 |
| 30.     | Telangana                | 8                            |     16 |
| 31.     | Tripura                  | -                            |      8 |
| 32.     | Uttar Pradesh            | 15                           |     89 |
| 33.     | Uttarakhand              | 3                            |     13 |
| 34.     | West Bengal              | 4                            |     23 |
| TOTAL   |                          | 113                          |    731 |

******

## [Part (c) of Lok Sabha USQ No. 3811 dated 12 TH  AUGUST, 2025]

## The progress report of the last l0 years of ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research (ICAR-DWR), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

## i. Research & Technology Development

-  Developed and demonstrated 38 numbers of sustainable weed management technologies for field crops ( kharif , rabi and summer), and horticultural crops.
-  Developed integrated weed management technologies for Conservation Agriculture-based 05 major cropping systems of the country.
-  Evaluated 15 numbers of new herbicide molecules for their bio-efficacy and residual effects in soilwater-plant system to facilitate the herbicide industries for registration in CIB&RC.
-  Developed methodology for quick estimation of residues in 34 herbicide molecules at a time.
-  Developed and successfully demonstrated a model for phytoremediation of heavy metal-polluted water using aquatic weeds.
-  Bio-control  technology  for  managing  aquatic  weeds  using Neochetina spp.  for  Water  hyacinth  (300 hectares in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana) and Cyrtobagous salviniae for Salvinia (1652 hectares in Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Chhattisgarh), resulted in eco-friendly weed management and resulted in improvement of livelihood of fishermen and restoration of biodiversity.
-  Technology developed for management of herbicide resistant Phalaris minor in  wheat in Punjab and Haryana states (approximately 3.60 million ha) has resulted in generating additional income of Rs. 5985 crores annually.
-  Technologies  for  management  of  herbicide  resistant  weeds  in  soybean  (Madhya  Pradesh)  and  rice (Chhattisgarh and Kerala).
-  Developed SOPs for herbicide application through Drones in different field crops, and also imparted trainings for capacity building.
-  Developed microbial consortia to manage parasitic weed ( Striga ) in sugarcane.
-  Low-cost weeding tools developed and commercialized.
-  Understood the mechanisms of crop-weed interaction and herbicide efficacy under changing climate.

## ii. Certification & IP Protection:

-  ICAR has certified 12 technologies
-  Institute has received 09 copyrights and 02 patents granted,
-  Developed 03 Mobile Apps (Weed Manager, DWR-HerbCal, Weedseed Guru),
-  Commercialized 03 technologies.

## iii. Infrastructure & Capacity Building

-  Established State of the Art facilities, viz, tissue culture lab, containment and insect quarantine, weed seed genebank, FACE facility, agricultural drone, LC-MS-MS, plant growth chambers, etc.

## iv. Collaborations:

-  SAUs, other Universities, DBT, DST, ICFRE, IRRI, State Forest Department, MPBT and Herbicide industries.

## v. New AICRP Centres:

-  Opened new AICRP on Weed Management Centres at MPUAT, Udaipur; BCKV, Kalyani; PDKV, Akola and SKUAST, Jammu.

## vi. Outreach & Human Resource Development

-  Organized 543 capacity-building programs, benefitting over 117,409 trainees.
-  Conducted  8,616  field  demonstrations  and  trained  15,415  farmers  through  MGMG,  FFP,  and  other initiatives.
-  Nationwide campaign for creating awareness about the ill effects of Parthenium and its management strategies for the last 20 years.
-  Disseminated  technologies  via  Kisan  Mobile  Sandesh  (SMS),  farmer's  fairs,  exhibitions,  and  digital platforms.

## vii. Publications:

-  120 research papers in high impact journals, 18 books and 19 technical bulletins.

## viii. Certified seed production:

-  Produced 1,024.67 tons of rice, wheat, mustard, and pulses seed.

The progress of Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Jabalpur for the last 10 years is as follows:

-  New KVKs established: During last 10 years, 16 new Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) were established in the jurisdiction of ATARI, Jabalpur
-  Total 195402 frontline demonstrations (FLDs) conducted at farmers' fields successfully showcased new technologies that enhance productivity and sustainability.
-  KVKs undertook 58259 training programmes covering more than 23.95 lakh participants that include farmers, farm women, rural youth and 121729 extension functionaries.
-  KVKs also produced 157952 q seeds of field crops and 412.56 lakh planting materials of horticultural crops.
-  Total 14.66 lakh farmers visited to KVKs.
-  Total 10.03 lakh soil heath cards were issued to farmers
-  Farmer FIRST Project is operated at seven centers in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The projects have benefitted 69836 farming families.
-  Seed Hub Project on pulses is functional in 16 KVKs (9 in Madhya Pradesh and 7 in Chhattisgarh). Under Seed hub, total 45432 q pulse seed was produced by KVKs.
-  Cluster  Frontline  Demonstration (CFLD) on Pulses: Under CFLD pulses, total 84027 demonstrations were conducted to demonstrate improved pulses varieties and package of practices.
-  Cluster Frontline Demonstration (CFLD) on Oilseed: Under CFLD Oilseeds, 74390 demonstrations were conducted  to  demonstrate  improve  oilseeds  varieties  and  package  of  practices.  In  addition,  under Special CFLD (SAP Programme) in 2019-20, total 12598 demonstrations were conducted.
-  Out-scaling of Natural Farming through KVKs: The project was implemented in 48 KVKs (32 in MP, 16 in Chhattisgarh) during the year 2022-24. Total 2783 awareness programmes were carried out by involving 156558  participants. Furthermore, 497 training programmes  were  organized involving  20455 participants  for  capacity  building  on  Natural  farming  practices,  while  939  demonstrations  were conducted on various crops.
-  Nutri-Sensitive Agricultural Resources and Innovation ( NARI) Programme: To ensure access to diverse and nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits, total of 1,765 activities were conducted for establishment of nutrition  gardens  in  Nutri-Smart  Villages  involving  6,631  households.  For  capacity  building,  1,508 training programmes on topics like nutrition-sensitive agriculture were conducted benefiting 43,178 participants.
-  Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA): ARYA project is operational in 12 KVKs in Madhya Pradesh (8) and Chhattisgarh (4). Total 10511 youths were trained in different agricultural and allied enterprises.  Total  1656  new  entrepreneurial  units  were  established  under  different  agricultural  and allied enterprises in which 4973 youth were associated.
-  Technology Demonstration Component under National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA): NICRA is presently operational in 11 KVKs in the states of Madhya Pradesh (8) and Chhattisgarh (3). Through various planned activities, total 175320 farmers were benefited in 19865 ha area through technological interventions under NICRA.
-  Award and Recognition to KVKs: Four KVKs received ICAR- National KVK Award.

******