Last updated on August 10th, 2023 at 02:16 pm
Dr. Jitendra Singh said today that the Department of Biotechnology has funded fifty-one Biotech-Kisan hubs out of which forty-four are operational. There are 15 agro-climatic hubs located throughout the country conducting activities in 169 districts.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Department of Biotechnology is implementing the farmers-centric Mission Programme ‘Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network’ (Biotech-KISAN) in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The program connects Indian farmers with the best scientists and institutions.
The main objectives of the program are to comprehend the difficulties of the local farmer, research available technologies/solutions, create and implement demonstration and scale-up programs, establish a strong Scientists-Farmers Interaction Platform, design training programs for farmers and immersion programs for scientists, communicate through radio/TV and social media, provide thematic fellowships for selected farmers and special solution-driven thematic fellowships for women farmers.
The program’s goals are to raise farmers’ incomes through technological interventions and to develop bio-based enterprises in rural areas. Over four lakhs farmers (directly or indirectly) have benefitted from the program by increasing their agriculture output and income.
The program is also successful in developing 200 entrepreneurs in rural areas. The Department has provided support of Rs. to date. 9554.146 lakhs were allocated to the program.
Moreover, the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India are implementing various programs for direct linkage between science laboratories and farmers in the country.
Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE)/Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is supporting 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and implementing programs like Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG), Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) program and farmer FIRST.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories CIMAP (Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants) and National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (NBRI) provide technical support and advice to farmers through training programs and skill development programs on various aspects of agriculture, science, and technology.
In addition to Biotech-Kisan, Department is also supporting farmers through its societal program.
