India, Agriculture and ARD

Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development

S.K. Datta

Deputy Director General

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development

Everything can wait but not agriculture

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

1st Prime Minister of India

INDIA TODAY

� 17% of the world’s population & 11%

livestock

� 4.2% of the world’s water

� 2.4% of the world’s area2.4% of the world’s area

� 51% arable land & 137% cropping intensity

� 140±2 m ha cultivated; only 60 mha

irrigated

� <18% contribution to GDP but >52 % of

workforce in agriculture

From Food Shortage to Food

Security and a Major Exporter

• In ’50s and’60 India was “ship to mouth” in response to food shortagesresponse to food shortages

• In 1967, Mrs. Indira Gandhi embarked on bringing Food Security through “Green revolution”

From Food Shortage to Food

Security

• Green Revolution had several components:

– Policy

• Minimum Support Price• Minimum Support Price

• Subsidized inputs (Seed, Fertilizer,Pesticide,

Energy, Water, Extension and New Knowldege)

– Public Distribution System

– Vitalizing Agricultural Research, Education

and Extension System holistically

From Food Shortage to Food

Security

• Results of intervention by mid-1970’s

• Greater impetus in Agricultural and Rural Development from VI five year plan

• Restructuring agricultural research system • Restructuring agricultural research system with new Institutional Interventions – including building a cadre of agricultural

scientists similar to Indian Civil Services

– Setting of National Academy of Agricultural Research Management

Role of new generation breeding in

increasing food production

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 *2020

Food grain

production

[mT] * Req.

50.8 82.0 108.4 129.6 176.4 201.8 230 293.6

Impact of genetic

improvement

Increase in production

• Food grains : 4X

• Milk : 6X

• Horticultural : 6X

• Meat : 8X

• Fish : 9X

Food demand in IndiaItems Production

(Mt)

Demand of

Food (Mt)

Demand of

Food (Mt)

2000/2009 2010 2020

Rice 85.4/91 103.6 122.1Rice 85.4/91 103.6 122.1

Wheat 71.0/80 85.8 102.8

Coarse

grains

29.9/34 34.9 40.9

Food grains 200.8/234 245.7 293.6

Pulses 16.1/14.6 21.4 27.8

Source: State of Indian Agriculture, 2009 ICAR-08-09

Current Strengths

• Indian Agricultural Research System has:

– 98 Research Institutes with Project

Directorates, Bureaus etc with 3 New

Institutes for Biotic and Abiotic Stress Institutes for Biotic and Abiotic Stress

Management and Agricultural Biotechnology

– 45 State Agricultural Universities and 1

Central Agricultural University

Current Strengths

• More than 3000 Scientists and Technicians in the Research System

• 579 Krishi Vikas Kendras which link research and innovation at Farmer Field research and innovation at Farmer Field level

• State sponsored large extension Services

• Very strong Civil Society Organization, Cooperative and Private Sector

Scientific Achievement

Plant and animal sciences 1999-2009

Rank papers citations growth citations/paper

PR China 12th 23000 380% 4.8

Brazil 17th 22000 240% 3.4Brazil 17th 22000 240% 3.4

India 20th 20000 160% 2.8

South Africa 23rd 8500 100% 5.5

Russia 33rd 6800 37% 3.8

Turkey 36th 9100 380% 2.2

Scientific Achievement

Environment/ecology 1999-2009

Rank papers citations growth citations/paper

PR China 10th 14000 500% 6.0

Brazil 20th 5500 220% 8.0Brazil 20th 5500 220% 8.0

India 21st 6700 320% 5.3

South Africa 22nd 3300 160% 9.6

Turkey 33rd 3700 420% 4.3

Russia 34th 2800 75% 5.6

Scientific Achievement and Trend

Agricultural Sciences 1999-2009

14

16

18

20

Cit

ati

on

s n

um

bers

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1999-2003 2001-2005 2003-2007 2005-2009 2007-2011 2009-2013

5-years Periods

Cit

ati

on

s n

um

bers

France

China

India

Brasil

Scientific AchievementRank Country Papers Citations Citations

Per

Paper

1 USA 40,701 340,262 8.36

2 SPAIN 11,584 81,746 7.06

3 ENGLAND 7,589 74,332 9.79

4 FRANCE 8,639 70,796 8.19

5 GERMANY 10,651 64,752 6.08

6 CANADA 7,662 59,272 7.74

7 JAPAN 11,668 54,744 4.69

8 AUSTRALIA 7,353 50,376 6.858 AUSTRALIA 7,353 50,376 6.85

9 ITALY 6,719 48,434 7.21

10 NETHERLANDS 4,272 42,849 10.03

11 DENMARK 2,733 26,576 9.72

12 PEOPLES R CHINA 6,350 26,256 4.13

13 INDIA 10,306 25,658 2.49

14 BELGIUM 2,822 24,413 8.65

15 BRAZIL 8,225 21,588 2.62

16 SWEDEN 2,119 20,593 9.72

17 SWITZERLAND 2,327 20,085 8.63

18 FINLAND 1,794 19,779 11.03

19 SCOTLAND 1,762 19,546 11.09

20 NEW ZEALAND 2,838 19,338 6.81

EXISTING APPROACHES

� Enhance research capacity and international collaboration,

particularly regional.

� Development of climate responsive crops and land use systems.

� Keep research outputs in public domain.

� Strengthen institutions : Establish an Agricultural Intelligence

System; Weather watch groups ; Increase pest surveillance.

� Aggressive capacity building and human resource development.

� Improve land/resource use policy : Increase soil carbon:

minimal tillage, residue management; Improve management of

water and fertilizers; Improve energy use efficiency in

agriculture: better designs of machinery, and by conservation

practices.

� Multiple use of water & enhance water productivity.

� Act as hub for regional growth.

(Challenges ahead)

• Ca 140 Agri-land remain fixed for the past 3 decades (still 3% global land provide food for 17% world population)population)

• Cropping intensity increased only 25%

• Lack of quality seeds production (only 20% breeders seeds converted)

• Productivity of food crops remain stagnant over past 3 decades (all over the world)

• Shortages of pulses is alarming

C4 crop (Rice) with drought/salinity/submergence tolerance is achievable

Global Climate Change

Deficit of 61.1% green fodder,

21.9% dry and 64% feeds

• Livestock most economically important sub- sector.

• Meat and milk consumption in India likely to grow at 5.03 and 3.18% per annum. 3.18% per annum.

• India accounts world’s 15% of the total livestock population dependent upon 2% of geographical area.

• Livestock population - 500 million, expected growth rate of 1.23% in the coming years

Breeding Crop varieties for uncertain abiotic stress conditions

• Early maturity

• Early or late sown plants with • Early or late sown plants with

high/low temperature tolerance

with water use efficiency

• Dynamic crop-calendar in

response to Environment

� Cutting edge technology (such as biotech, transgenic)

� to develop new varieties much more quickly and with desired

traits of yield and resistance to abiotic stress.

� to manage water, fertilizer and pesticide use.

� to arrest soil degradation.

� R&D efforts will have to concentrate on poor and vulnerable

regions.

WAY AHEAD

regions.

� these regions will be the first one (& worst) to be affected by

climate change and will be the lab for technologies

development.

� technologies developed will be useful for other regions.

� Cutting edge technologies would need collaboration with

developed countries.

� All these will require intensive national and international

effort including investment.

Gene discovery, Allele miningDesigner Crops in Designer Agriculture

WHAT INDIA HAS TO OFFER?

� Co-operation in Capacity Building and Human

Resource Development (Strong institutional

facilities).

� Opportunities for Joint Research Projects,

particularly in mitigating aspects of Climate particularly in mitigating aspects of Climate

stress (Unique lab because of wide spectrum of

climatic regions).

� Partnerships in Genomics,Trans-Boundary

Disease Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity

of crops, vegetables & fisheries

� Opportunities for Germplasm & technology

exchange.

THANK THANK

YOU