Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Inaugurates New Facilities at ICAR-IIAB in Ranchi, Emphasizes 'Lab to Land'

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, inaugurated various new facilities at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (ICAR-IIAB) in Ranchi via video conferencing. The inaugurated facilities include an Admin-cum-School building, the Birsa Munda Multipurpose Auditorium, the Jaipal Singh Munda Sports Complex, and a NEXTGEN Breeding Facility. Additionally, the foundation stone was laid for a new guest house to be constructed at a cost of 119 crore rupees.

On this occasion, a Pre-Rabi Farmers' Seminar-cum-Agricultural Input Distribution program was organized, attended by approximately 1,500 farmers from the Ranchi, Khunti, Gumla, and Ramgarh districts. The program was conducted under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) with the aim of establishing direct communication between farmers, scientists, and policymakers.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that it is essential to adopt scientific and technology-based agriculture alongside traditional knowledge to tackle current agricultural challenges. He emphasized the selection of crops suited to the local conditions of Jharkhand, the availability of improved seeds, and the delivery of technologies developed by research institutes directly to the fields. He highlighted the need for effective control over fake seeds and adulterated fertilizers and called for the launch of a nationwide 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' (Save the Farm Campaign) in the coming days.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, also participated in the program. He spoke about promoting soil testing, balanced fertilizer use, and natural farming. He reviewed various facilities of the institute, including the dairy farm and the Integrated Farming System (IFS) unit. At the dairy farm, he was briefed on the Embryo Transfer technique for the genetic improvement of livestock.

Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR, discussed the potential for an agricultural revolution in Eastern India and called for the widespread adoption of rice-fallow intensification and increased research to solve challenges such as acidic soil. Meanwhile, Dr. D.K. Yadav, Deputy Director General (Crop Science) of ICAR, emphasized making agricultural research aligned with the actual needs of farmers.

During the seminar, agricultural and livestock inputs, including nano urea, nano DAP, mineral mixtures, improved seed kits, and milk can coolers, were distributed to the farmers. On this occasion, Dr. R. Ramani, Dr. K.K. Sharma, Dr. Tilak Raj Sharma, and Dr. Arunav Patnaik were honored for their contributions to the development of the institute.