19 July 2026, New Delhi
Agriculture Minister, Government of West Bengal, Shri Dudh Kumar Mondal, visited ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi, today and held discussions with the Dr Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-IARI on strengthening collaboration in agricultural research and development in West Bengal.
The Minister also visited the rice demonstrations and experimental fields, where discussions were held on the possibilities of adapting Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technology in West Bengal, particularly for addressing climate change.
Dr Viswanathan Chinnusamy, Joint Director (Research), participated in the deliberations.
During the interaction, the Minister expressed interest in close collaboration between the Government of West Bengal and ICAR-IARI to address key agricultural priorities of the state.
Genetic improvement of heritage rice varieties such as Gobindobhog was identified as a key area and scaling up of improved varieties for enhancing the farmers income, where ICAR-IARI, New Delhi could contribute significantly to the improvement of GI protected specialty rice varieties.
Later, the Minister visited the Seed Production Unit (SPU), where Dr. Gyanendra Singh, In-charge, SPU, briefed him on ICAR-IARI’s seed production system and ongoing initiatives through farmer-participatory seed production.
The visit highlighted the potential for stronger collaboration between ICAR-IARI, New Delhi and Government of West Bengal in agricultural research and development in the state of West Bengal.
(Source: ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi)
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