ICT in Indian NARS

摘要

India is a large country with inherent geographic, ecological and cultural diversity, making information dissemination and communication a challenging task. Agriculture is no exception. Of the total 143 M ha of net area cultivated in India, it is divided into about 115 M holdings, of which 56.7% are less than 1 ha in size. termed as Marginal Farms and about 20% holdings in 1 -2 ha range, called Small Farms. So. farmers with Small and Marginal holdings, constitute as much as 3/4th of the tanning community in India. They are generally poor, have low level ot'literacy and have capital and management constraint. Agriculture received high priority when India became independent in 1947. Agriculture continues to be backbone of the Indian economy & source of livelihood. It contributes about 26.3% to GDP and provides sustenance to 63.2% of the people. Nineteenth & twentieth century colonial India witnessed devastating droughts and famines. Import of food grains used to he major import bill in 1950s and 1960s till it succeeded in bringing Green Revolution in 1967-68, which brought about quantum jump in food grain production. It succeeded in raising the food grain production from 51 million tones (Mt) in 1949-1950 to 212 Ml in 2001-02, the production dippedto 182.5 Mt in 2002-03 but is expected to be 215 Mt in 2003-04, indicating the predominant role played by monsoon. Most of increase is through the increasing productiv ity, 35-50% increase may be attributed to agricultural research. The Green Revolutionwas succeeded by 'White Revolution" stepping up milk production to over 82 Mt by 2002-03 making India largest producer of milk at economical costs. Technological Mission on Oilseeds brought Yellow Revolution', providing near self-sufficiency in vegetableoils. It had 'Blue Revolution' with fish production increasing several folds reaching about 5.7 Mt by 2002-2003. It had similar growth in vegetable and fruit production, becoming second largest producer in the world, next only to China. Production andproductivity of commercial and plantation crops also made remarkable progress. In order to meet the demand of increasing population, food security and nutritional security, emphasis is now placed on harnessing genetically modified crops and biotechnology. Indian NARS spearheaded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) played major role in these developments by making available location specific technologies, human resources and management packages, closely working with developmental departments, policy makers, finance and marketing institutions.