Farm scientists told to focus R&D on nutrient rich, traditional crops to strengthen food systems
IAHS fellowship was presented to the Padmasree awardee Amal Mahaling Nayak, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka who single handedly developed an organic agricultural farm with a zero-energy micro irrigation system at the 11th Indian Horticulture Congress in Bengaluru on Thursday
Director General of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and Secretary, DARE, ML Jat urged farm scientists to focus research and innovation on nutrient-dense, underutilised and traditional crops that can strengthen local food systems and improve public health outcomes.
Delivering the presidential address at the 11th Indian Horticulture Congress, Jat emphasised the need for wider collaborations highlighting the recent talks with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for translational studies on bio-fortified crops to link agricultural research directly to people’s nutrition and livelihoods. Jat further underlined the three mandates set by Prime Minister for agriculture sector to focus on bio-fortified crops, harnessing biodiversity and use of bio-based inputs for soil health management.
Climate resilience
Traditional crops should be explored for achieving nutritional security and also for climate resilience. There is further necessity to improve the value chain of important agricultural commodities to increase the farmers income, Jat said and called for breaking disciplinary silos and developing synergistic, multi-institutional teams spanning from discovery to delivery.
He noted that India’s agriculture ecosystem must move from “working in parts” to functioning as an integrated system that combines public and private sector strengths. The Union government has recently initiated several new programmes like clean plant material, mission on high yielding seeds and establishment of alternative gene bank for protecting the genetic diversity of the nation and to mitigate the possible future disasters.
RS Paroda, Former Director General of ICAR emphasized that horticulture sector plays a crucial role in achieving nutritional security of the country. Over the past two decades, cereal consumption has declined while the intake of fruits and vegetables has increased from 4 kg to 9 kg per capita per month. Horticultural production has now surpassed cereal production.
Paroda highlighted the importance of policy support, human resource development, research and commercialisation, reduction of post-harvest losses, value addition, and a stronger focus on exports —particularly of spices and other high-value crops.
SK Singh, President, Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences and DDG (Horticulture Science), explained the details of the four-day conference and the history of IAHS society and its contribution to the growth of country’s horticulture sector.
Published on November 6, 2025
