CUTTACK: Rice is the cornerstone of food security in India and also a key element to our economy, said President of India Droupadi Murmu while calling upon scientists to find a middle path for conserving the traditional varieties of rice.
Inaugurating the 2nd Indian Rice Congress at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute here in Cuttack on Saturday, the President said that India is the leading consumer and exporter of rice today, but the situation was different when the nation became free.
“In those days, we were dependent on imports to meet our food requirements, and often the nation lived what was called a ship-to-mouth existence. If the nation could overcome that dependency and has become the largest exporter, a lot of credit goes to the National Rice Research Institute. The institute has contributed immensely to India’s food security and also in improving farmers’ lives,” said Murmu.
In the last century, as irrigation facilities expanded, rice was grown in new places and found new consumers. The paddy crop requires high amount of water but many parts of the world are facing severe water shortages due to climate change. Droughts, floods and cyclones are now more frequent, making rice cultivation more vulnerable, she said.
“Even as rice has broken new ground, there are places where traditional varieties are facing challenges. Thus, the task before us today is to find the middle path: preserving and conserving traditional varieties on one hand, and maintaining ecological balance on the other. Another challenge is to save the soil from excessive use of chemical fertilisers, which are considered necessary for modern rice cultivation. We need to reduce our dependency on such fertilisers in order to keep our soil healthy. She expressed confidence that scientists are at work to devise eco-friendly rice production systems,” said the President.
Recalling Sudama’s rice story and telling that rice is rightly called the grain of life, the President said as rice forms the bedrock of our food security, we must consider its nutritional aspects too.Large sections of low-income groups depend on rice, which is often the only source of daily nutrition for them.
Therefore, delivering protein, vitamins and essential micro-nutrients through rice can help combat malnutrition. “I am told that ICAR-NRRI has developed India’s first high protein rice, called CR Dhan 310 and NRRI has also released a high-zinc rice variety, called CR Dhan 315. Development of such bio-fortified varieties is an ideal example of science in the service of society,” said the President adding that more and more of such efforts would be needed to support the increasing population amid a changing climate while expressing confidence that India’s scientific community would rise to the challenge.
Among others, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Ranendra Pratap Swain, director, ICAR-NRRI Amaresh Kumar Nayak, director-ICAR-NIASM Himansu Pathak and president of Association of Rice Research Workers P K Agrawal were present.