Posted On:
15 NOV 2026 6:59PM by PIB Bengaluru
Dr. M. L. Jat, Hon’ble Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), visited ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Bengaluru, on 15 November 2026. During his visit, he inaugurated the Farmers’ Advanced Training Centre (ATC) and the Centre of Excellence for Genome Editing in Horticultural Crops, including a Biosafety Level-II (BSL-II) Laboratory.
Following the inauguration of the Farmers’ Advanced Training Centre, Dr. Jat interacted with progressive farmers, incubatees, entrepreneurs, nursery owners and practitioners of natural farming who have adopted ICAR-IIHR varieties and technologies. The interaction focused on natural farming practices, innovations in horticulture and strategies to mitigate the impact of El Niño and Super El Niño on horticultural crops. Farmers shared their experiences in adopting climate-resilient practices such as mulching, sprinkler irrigation, border cropping, intercropping with short-duration flower and vegetable crops, and green manuring. These interventions have helped improve crop yield, produce quality and farmers’ income.
Addressing the farmers, Dr. Jat emphasized the importance of encouraging educated youth, engineers and agricultural graduates to actively participate and invest in agriculture and horticulture by adopting scientific innovations. He highlighted the need to integrate modern scientific technologies with traditional wisdom and stressed that farmers must remain at the centre of all agricultural research and development initiatives. He also appreciated the role of ICAR institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) in popularizing innovative technologies through Government of India programmes, particularly the Khet Bachao Abhiyan (KBA). He assured that successful farmer innovations and experiences would be documented and disseminated widely to benefit farming communities across the country.
Subsequently, Dr. Jat inaugurated the Centre of Excellence for Genome Editing in Horticultural Crops, equipped with a Biosafety Level-II Laboratory, marking an important step towards strengthening advanced biotechnology research and genome-editing capabilities in horticultural crops. He emphasized that scientists should prepare for the future by developing self-reliance in genome resources for genome-editing research. He also highlighted the need for prioritization, better targeting, development of a strong data ecosystem and identification of opportunities where Indian agricultural research can achieve global standards and first-of-its-kind innovations.
During his interaction with postgraduate students, he stressed the importance of nurturing young scientific talent and strengthening human capital. He encouraged scientists to move beyond conventional approaches, embrace new opportunities and work towards making agriculture a major contributor to India's vision of a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, with a targeted contribution of USD 6 trillion from agriculture. He also highlighted the potential of microbial technologies, biofertilizer start-ups and innovations in health and nutrition.
The visit also included interaction with postgraduate students, visits to research laboratories and a field visit to the institute's research facilities. The visit provided an important platform to strengthen the institute's research, innovation, farmer outreach and human resource development initiatives, reaffirming ICAR-IIHR's commitment to sustainable, climate-resilient and technology-driven horticultural development.
On this occasion Dr V B Patel, ADG Fruits and spices, Director IIHR Dr Tusar Kanti Behera, Directors and Heads of the ICAR institutes in Bengaluru, Scientists of the institute, Postgraduate students, research scholars, Innovative farmers and Agri entrepreneurs were present.
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