The varieties are tolerant to diseases, insects, pests, drought, salinity, and flooding, early maturing and amenable to mechanical harvesting

The Government of India has given special attention to providing an impetus for growth and employment in the farming sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a recently held press conference has mentioned the release of climate-resilient special traits varieties. A total of 21 varieties of rice, peas, millet, maize, soybean, quinoa, buckwheat, winged bean, pigeon pea and sorghum will be dedicated to the nation, according to the FM.

The earlier focus on developing higher yield crop varieties lacked attention towards nutrition, climate resilience and other traits. In these varieties, the concentration of important nutrients was far below the required level, and they were susceptible to biotic and abiotic stresses. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed bio-fortified crop varieties having high nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, vitamin-A. These varieties are tolerant to diseases, insects, pests, drought, salinity, and flooding, early maturing and amenable to mechanical harvesting also developed.