To promote nutritional security, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched two programmes for upscaling biofortified varieties of crops through Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Kailash Choudhary said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The two programmes are Nutri-sensitive Agricultural Resources and Innovations (NARI) and Value Addition and Technology Incubation Centres in Agriculture (VATICA)
According to the minister, the ICAR is also implementing projects like ‘Sustainable Approaches for Nutritional Security’ and ‘Nutritional Security and Health Promotion of Farm Families’ under the All India Coordinated Research Project on women in agriculture.
The minister further said that ICAR has developed 79 biofortified varieties of various crops namely rice, wheat, maize, millets, lentil, groundnut, linseed, mustard and soybean which are nutritionally rich. Additionally, eight biofortified varieties of horticulture crops, cauliflower, potato, sweet potato, greater yam and pomegranate are popularised among farmers through demonstrations and trainings involving various mass communication media.
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