Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, held an in-depth meeting today with senior officials of the Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) within the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. The focus was on enhancing agricultural research and development strategies to improve farmer productivity and income while reducing production costs.

Addressing the officials, Minister Chouhan stressed the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of the current research network comprising 113 research institutes. He called for a detailed report on the network’s performance and its alignment with the intended objectives. “We should assess the importance of our work and whether our network has been able to deliver the expected results. If there are gaps, a detailed report should be submitted,” he stated.

Minister Chouhan underscored the need for setting and achieving clear targets, both short-term and long-term, to drive a new agricultural revolution. He urged periodic reviews of targets to identify gaps and make necessary adjustments. “If we set targets and are successful in achieving them, we can bring about a new revolution. Without this, we cannot move ahead. By reviewing our targets, we will achieve the set goals by 2047, with interim targets for 2026 and 2027,” he added.

A key point of discussion was the disparity in productivity between irrigated and non-irrigated areas in Jharkhand compared to other regions in the country. Minister Chouhan called for a targeted campaign to balance productivity across different regions.

The Minister directed a focused approach on research that enhances the productivity and income of farmers while reducing production costs. He highlighted the need to promote bio-fortified crop varieties among farmers, ensuring balanced productivity across all regions.

The meeting was attended by Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Ram Nath Thakur and Shri Bhagirath Chaudhary, Agriculture Secretary Shri Manoj Ahuja, and Secretary of DARE and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr. Himanshu Pathak. The high-level discussion aimed to streamline efforts towards achieving sustainable agricultural growth and farmer welfare.