KOCHI: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said that farmers should benefit from research activities conducted by the ICAR institutes.
Speaking at the State-level interface meeting on ‘Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries’ at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi, he emphasised on the importance of environment-friendly technologies such as water harvesting and solar power generation.
He said higher productivity and lower post-harvest losses in the agriculture and allied sectors would ensure better remuneration for farmers.
At the meet, representatives of various institutes apprised the Minister of the status of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) and the infrastructure available to effectively transfer benefits of research outputs and technologies to farmers.
The Minister said sufficient funds are available with various Central agencies and funding bodies to facilitate the various programmes related to setting up cold chains for perishable products and development of infrastructure for the KVKs.
An interactive meeting was held with various ICAR research institutes, state agricultural universities and KVKs, to discuss the issues related to research and outreach activities that would benefit farmers.
Fisheries and Excise Minister K Babu; Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan; principal secretary Subrata Biswas; BJP state president V Muraleedharan; Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, VC P Rajendran; Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University VC B Ashok; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, VC B Madhusoodana Kurup; representatives of ICAR research institutes CPCRI, CTCRI, IISR, NBPGR, SBI, CMFRI, CIFT, CIFRI and NBFGR; and KVKs from Thrissur, Alappuzha and Ernakulam were also present at the meeting.