12th Annual Workshop of the Network Project on Conservation of Lac Insect Genetic Resources organised

12th Annual Workshop of the Network Project on Conservation of Lac Insect Genetic Resources organised

11^th February 2025, 

The 12th Annual Workshop of the Network Project on Conservation of Lac Insect Genetic Resources was organized today, in hybrid mode. This significant event brought together key stakeholders, including lead and cooperating centers, to review the annual progress and finalize the technical programs for the year 2025-26.

Dr K.P. Singh, Assistant Director General (Farm Engineering), emphasized the need for all centers to present their annual achievements in quantifiable terms, such as the number of districts/blocks surveyed, lac insects/host plants collected, and conserved, research articles published, patents filed, and new technologies developed. He also stressed the importance of publishing research articles in high-rating journals and conducting training programs on an even larger scale to raise awareness about lac cultivation.

Dr Abhijit Kar, Director, ICAR-National Institute of Secondary Agriculture, Ranchi, briefed about the institute’s achievements and ongoing activities.

Dr Niranjan Prasad, Project Coordinator, NP-CLIGR, highlighted the significant achievements of the network project, including the development of new methodologies, techniques, and technologies by the PIs of cooperating centers. He also provided details of the surveys conducted from 2014-2024, noting that 90.3% of the survey was completed, with 52% of districts showing the presence of lac insects. Additionally, 37 training programmes were conducted in 2024, benefiting 1456 individuals.

The session also included presentations of the annual progress report and achievements by various centers. During the technical session, Principal Investigators (PIs) from the Network Cooperating Centers presented their progress and achievements for the year 2024. 

The concluding session emphasized the importance of completing the remaining surveys by March 2025.

(Source: ICAR-National Institute of Secondary Agriculture, Ranchi)