Revitalizing India’s Agricultural Research and Development System

Source-This post on Revitalizing India’s Agricultural Research and Development System   has been created based on the article “This budget should bring agricultural research into focus” published in “The Indian Express” on 22 July 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-3-Agriculture

Context– Today, Indian agriculture faces new challenges: achieving higher yields with fewer nutrients, less water, and reduced labor, all while dealing with climate change and extreme weather events. The article highlights the need to enhance investment in research and development in Agriculture.

What are the challenges faced by India’s Agricultural Research and Development System?

1) Lack of Adequate Funds-

A) IARI had a budget of Rs 710 crore last fiscal year. A large portion, Rs 540 crore, went to salaries and pensions, and Rs 98 crore to administrative expenses. This leaves limited funds for crucial areas like research, breeding, and acquiring modern equipment such as DNA sequencers and high-throughput screening tools.

B) Due to the paucity of dedicated funds, they are not able to attract specialized talent in genome editing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence for agriculture.

2) Old Institutional Design-The challenge lies in revitalizing the public agricultural research system, including ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities, which were largely established during the 1960s and 1970s.

3) Comprehensive Research Approach -ICAR has many institutes dedicated to specific crops and animals such as soybean, cotton, grapes, and camels. However, these institutes prioritize individual crops or animals rather than adopting a comprehensive research approach that fits diverse agro-climatic zones.

4) Lack of Protection– The absence of adequate intellectual property rights protection has contributed to the decline in cotton production and the stagnation of oilseeds production.

Read More- Challenges Facing Indian Agriculture

What should be the way forward?

1) One Time Fund-A one-time fund of Rs 5,000 crore is needed to upgrade infrastructure and modernize research facilities at ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities. This should be coupled with organizational restructuring and reforms.

2) Enhancing Institutional Autonomy -These institutions should have the freedom to hire top talent and generate funds. This could be through partnerships with private entities, sponsored research, or earning royalties on seeds and technologies.

3) Prioritizing Agricultural Research – The upcoming budget should prioritize agricultural research in both the public and private sectors, alongside providing greater intellectual property protection for breeders and technology developers.

Question for practice

What difficulties does India’s Agricultural Research and Development System encounter? What steps should be taken to move forward?