Rice is a key factor for India's economy: President Murmu
CUTTACK: Rice is the cornerstone of food security in India and also a key factor for our economy, said President Droupadi Murmu while calling upon scientists to find a middle path for conserving traditional varieties of rice.
Inaugurating the second Indian Rice Congress at the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) here on Saturday Murmu said even as rice has broken new ground, there are places where traditional varieties are facing challenges.
"The task before us is to find the middle path - preserving and conserving traditional varieties on one hand, and maintaining ecological balance on the other. We need to reduce our dependence on fertiliser in order to keep our soil healthy," she said.
Murmu recalled Sudama’s rice and maintained that rice is rightly called the grain of life as it forms the bedrock of food security due to its nutritional aspects. 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 micronutrients through rice can help combat malnutrition, she said.
The President lauded the NRRI scientists for developing India’s first high-protein rice - CR Dhan 310 and high-zinc rice variety - CR Dhan 315. The development of such bio-fortified varieties is an ideal example of science in the service of society. More such efforts are needed to support the increasing population amid a changing climate, she said.
Though India is the leading consumer and exporter of rice, Murmu said, the situation was different when the nation became Independent. "In those days, we were dependent on imports to meet our food requirements, and the nation lived on what was called a ship-to-mouth existence. If the nation could overcome that dependency and become the largest exporter, a lot of credit goes to the NRRI. The institute has contributed immensely to India’s food security and also in improving farmers’ lives," she observed.
Expressing concern over frequent droughts, floods and cyclones that made rice cultivation more vulnerable, the President hoped that scientists would devise eco-friendly rice production systems and develop more climate-resilient rice varieties to overcome the crisis. In the last century, the rice was grown in new places and it found new consumers as irrigation facilities expanded, she added.
Among others, Governor Prof Ganesh Lal, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, state’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Ranendra Pratap Swain, NRRI director Amaresh Kumar Nayak and NIASM director Himansu Pathak were present.