Three Borlaug institutes to come up in India

October 5th, 2011 - 11:40 pm ICT by IANS  

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) In order to harness the best of international science in meeting food security challenges and make India an agricultural hub for South Asian region, the government Wednesday said it will set up three Borlaug Institutes.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) Wednesday signed an agreement to set up the Borlaug Institutes for South Asia in India. They will come up at Ludhiana in Punjab, Pusa in Bihar and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

“The institutes will create state of the art research facilities to support maize and wheat research and development and broaden the range of varieties and tools available to farmers. They will also strengthen local crop breeding programmes to meet food production challenges,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said.

The Borlaug Institute Centre at Ludhiana will concentrate on introducing newer crop varieties that will be high yielding, more water and nutrient-efficient and terminal heat-resistant.

Pawar said the Bihar centre will focus on research priorities of eastern India and maize-based agricultural systems would be the focus of research.

Jabalpur is another strategically located agro-ecological zone of central India from where substantial productivity gains in agriculture, particularly wheat and maize can come, he said.

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