Dr. M.L. Jat, DG (ICAR) Visits ICAR-RCER, Patna

Agricultural research must be demand-driven & outcome-oriented: Dr. Jat

17–18 July 2025, Patna

Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR), visited the ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, to review ongoing research, education, and extension activities. During the two-day visit, Dr. Jat inaugurated two key facilities, a multi-utility sale counter and an Open Top Chamber (OTC) for climate-resilient agriculture research.

Dr. Jat toured the institute’s experimental fields, laboratories, livestock and fisheries research units, and lauded the efforts toward resource-efficient farming models tailored for small and marginal farmers across Eastern India’s diverse agro-climatic zones.

In an interaction with scientific and technical staff, he congratulated the institute on completing 25 years of dedicated service to Indian agriculture. He highlighted the immense potential of Eastern India and underscored future research priorities including intensification of rice-fallow systems, standardization of natural farming practices, adoption of climate-resilient technologies, and the use of advanced infrastructure like the OTC and Rainout Shelter.

DG (ICAR) urged piloting drone-based air-seeding in rice-fallow areas to utilize residual soil moisture and stressed the need for strengthening Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) in farmers’ fields. Emphasizing a "One Team – One Task" approach, he called for demand-driven, outcome-oriented research to support the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and appreciated the institute’s contributions under the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan.

Dr. Jat accentuated participatory seed production with farmers and highlighted the importance of stakeholder consultations to drive agricultural development in Bihar and Eastern India. He also interacted with farmers undergoing training in Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and emphasized the need to expand its adoption.

The event featured the release of PRAYAS, a publication highlighting the institute's outreach among marginalized farmers across seven Eastern states, and the launch of Kaushal-Se-Kisan Samridhi, a flagship initiative to empower marginal farmers through skill development. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed with a women-led Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) to promote tomato grafting technology.

The visit commenced with a tree plantation and included an exhibition showcasing the institute’s varieties, technologies, registered livestock breeds, and publications.

The programme was attended by Dr. Anup Das, Director, ICAR-RCER; Dr. Anjani Kumar, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Patna; and other senior officials.

(Source: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna)